


mudskipper

by brandywine421



Category: Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Brothers, F/M, Gen, Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-26
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21566890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brandywine421/pseuds/brandywine421
Summary: "Hey.  What's going on?"He shook his head when Steve squeezed his massive body into the hotel closet beside him.  "Don't.""That doesn't work on me, buddy, you know that."They'd enlisted together at eighteen, got drafted into the same clusterfuck of special ops at twenty-two, declared dead at twenty five and now - six weeks short of twenty-eight - they were coming home.  Home.They'd saved some people, even saved the world a couple of times and it was all supposed to lead to this - home.  He was supposed to come home a hero with two arms and two parents - not one arm and a mom.  His stepdad counted, sure, but his father - damn."Dad died.  Three years ago," he whispered.  "Mom and Jimmy don't even know what happened to my brother, said they haven't heard from him since the funeral."
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Matt Murdock, James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton, Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 138
Kudos: 286





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> FYI: I have a whole backstory for Winnie and Jack but all you need to know is that they made an 'error in judgment' when they were in high school and were married for 10 whole months. Winnie married Jimmy Barnes when Bucky was 3 and Jack & Maggie had Matt when Bucky turned 14.

" _Hey._ Hey, Buck. What's going on?"

He shook his head when Steve squeezed his massive body into the hotel closet beside him. "Don't."

"That doesn't work on me, buddy, you know that."

They'd enlisted together at eighteen, got drafted into the same clusterfuck of special ops at twenty-two, declared dead at twenty five and now - six weeks short of twenty-eight - they were coming home.

Home.

They'd saved some people, even saved the world a couple of times and it was all supposed to lead to this - home. He was supposed to come home a hero with two arms and two parents - not one arm and a mom. His stepdad counted, sure, but his father - goddammit.

"Buck?"

"Dad died. Three years ago," he whispered. "Mom and Jimmy don't even know what happened to my brother, said they haven't heard from him since the funeral."

Steve squeezed his shoulder tightly. "Jack died? What happened?"

"Murdered after a fight, he was still boxing," Bucky whispered.

"I'm so sorry, Bucky."

"He thought I was dead. Mom said he stopped answering her calls afterwards."

"Isn't your brother blind?"

Bucky shuddered. "I'm such a fuckhead."

"Hey, there's no way you could've known. Ma had two rounds of cancer, chemo and surgery, while I was gone."

He snapped his full attention to Steve. "Is she all right?"

"Yeah, and I'm sure your baby brother is all right, too. We've got three days before we fly home."

Home.

"Bucky. We knew things were going to change, we've been gone ten years," Steve whispered. "You still have your Ma, Jimmy and Becca, cousins and shit - I know it's small comfort without your Dad but - you're alive and you're sane and we're going home."

He trusted Steve more than he trusted himself. Steve wouldn't give him shit for crying all over his shirt.

* * *

"Okay, so it's not awful," his mother said, finally releasing her vice grip on his bionic arm and sitting down with Becca and Steve on the still plastic-covered couch.

"That's as good as you're going to get, trust me," Steve said. "My mom's so mad that I'm not moving back with her."

"It's more that you asked your secret lovers to arrange the apartments instead of coming to family, but what can we do about that now?" Becca said, kicking at him until he sat down on the loveseat.

"I still can't believe you chose Hell's Kitchen over Brooklyn, the subway doesn't even come here," his mother said.

He didn't mean to inhale sharply, at least not loudly. "Sorry. I asked for it to be close to both my homes, before I knew about Dad."

Her face crumpled with realization. "I'm sorry, I can't - shit, Bucky. I made some calls for you, though, I know where your brother's placed."

"Placed?" Becca paused. "Oh no, he's in care?"

"St. Agnes, it's - "

Steve fumbled with his bottle of water. "Don't call it an orphanage, Mom used to volunteer there when I was in school. They haven't closed it yet?"

"It's - he's doing well, here - " his mother said, pushing her phone into his hand. His mom seemed intent to prove that the mental arm didn't upset her and made sure to default to that hand even if it wasn't his dominant one.

Bucky slid over when Steve put his giant ass on the armrest to see the screen. "God, he looks just like Big Jack," Becca whispered as he flipped through the images.

"He has a dog in these pictures, but not the later ones," Bucky said.

"After Jack passed, he was taken into a foster home straight away and they - didn't think he needed a dog."

He frowned. "They took his dog? What kind of foster parent - "

"I can't find the details, but he only stayed there about a year before he went to St. Agnes," his mother replied softly. He knew she felt guilty for not following up but - she divorced Jack when Bucky was six months old and child support didn't mean they had to be best friends.

"Thanks for finding this, can you email or - "

His mom rolled her eyes. "Are you going to give me a legitimate email address or am I using the .gov one?"

He was going to be paying for his job choices forever but - it would be worth it. "I'll send you one and you can just reply."

"And Facebook?" Becca chirped.

"Don't rush me," Bucky glared at her.

* * *

"Matt?"

The boy flinched, swinging his white stick around to tap each of Bucky's boots. Steve glanced between them, sensing tension he wasn't prepared for.

Bucky didn't seem to notice and grabbed the boy by the shoulders, threadbare jacket too big for his thin frame. "Matt - it's me, it's Bucky - "

Matt raised his chin, flaring his nostrils before striking like a flipped trap. He swung his knee to nail Bucky right in the nuts and his elbow caught his face when he doubled over - but the double kick and pounce got him on his back against the pavement before Steve finished his shocked gasp.

"I don't know who you are or what you want, but - fuck you - " the kid hissed, ducking Steve's grasping hands to snag his wrists and flip himself off Bucky's sprawled body to get to his feet. He darted down the alley, over a dumpster and out of sight.

Bucky choked out a groan. "The hell was that?"

"Your brother is my new favorite person, but wow," Steve replied, helping Bucky to his feet. "I thought you said he knew you?"

"Shit, I haven't seen him since he was a little kid, before he was blind but - he - who taught him how to fight like - did you see that?" Bucky panted, motioning with his metal arm.

"You didn't visit him after he lost his sight?" Steve blurted out.

"Undercover, I was lucky Phillips let me read my mail," Bucky flushed, pausing to spit out a little blood. "Way to make me feel worse, Asshole."

"Maybe we should call the new Director and see if there's anything in your files," Steve suggested. He didn't think they were going to get to have the Hallmark Channel reunion Bucky had been hoping for.

A plump young man in a suit despite blond hair in a hipster bun, walked toward them. He lowered his phone and held out his hands in a placating gesture. "Excuse me, gentlemen. By any chance did you initiate conversation with a blind child who reacted - _unpredictably_?"

Steve winced when Bucky immediately replied, "He's my baby brother, what's it to you?"

"It's actually *a lot* to me since he's my client. Franklin Nelson, Attorney at Law, and I'd like your names so I can file appropriate restraining orders," the guy said. "My client's brother was killed in combat quite a few years ago."

"Classified missions sometimes translate into death certificates and metal arms," Bucky replied, waving his fingers. "I'm retired, off the roster and I want to see my brother. I didn't know about Dad until a few days ago and - I want to see Matt."

Nelson raised the phone to his ear again, listened and then tucked it back into his pocket with a sigh. "He can't see you right now, he's due back at the orphanage in twenty minutes and has chores. Follow me, I'll make some calls and if you check out - I can tell you everything you need to know. But if you don't check out - "

Steve grabbed Bucky by the elbow. "That's very nice of you Mr. Nelson. Maybe you have some ice for his face while we wait?"

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

Franklin became Foggy after Bucky showed him three forms of documentation and six family photos. He wanted to ask **all** the questions but Steve accepted a meeting for the next day on the lawyer's promise that Bucky would get **all** the answers and see his brother in a 'controlled setting'.

Considering his sore balls, he didn't think a controlled setting was a bad idea. He wondered if he should wear a cup when he went to the office.

But there was Matt, rumpled Catholic school uniform a size too big. God. The pictures weren't - he was so big and so small at the same time.

"Foggy says you're telling the truth so I'm sorry for flipping out on you yesterday," Matt said, fidgeting with his cuffs.

"Kid's jumpy before he gets to know you," Foggy said, mussing Matt's hair and ignoring the kid's annoyed expression. "It's why my mom always makes snacks when she knows he's coming in, it's easier to tame a stray if you feed it."

"I'm not going to argue about it because she makes great snacks," Matt shrugged. "Do we shake hands or - "

Bucky pulled him into a hug and after a moment, the boy patted his back. Foggy made cooing sounds or else Bucky would have milked a few more seconds out of it. "I'm so sorry about Dad, Matt. I'm sorry I wasn't here."

"Foggy said it wasn't by choice, that it's classified but that you didn't know."

"Will you tell me? Whatever you can?" Bucky asked.

"Yeah, I got a couple of hours," Matt replied, running his fingers through his hair and failing to make it look neater. "You mind a walk?"

Bucky glanced at Foggy who shrugged. He still had those questions, but - he was going with Matt wherever the kid was willing to take him.

The swing and random taps of Matt's stick was kind of soothing once they were on the sidewalk and Bucky took in the streets his dad knew so well.

"Dad said he always took you to the gym, to the deli and then to the park - at least when you were small," Matt said, stopping in front of - damn - the same old gym. "They still have some of his fight posters up, like, in memorial. You'll appreciate them more than I can," he added, pushing open the door.

The place looked just like he remembered it, but the yells in greeting were for Matt instead of Jack. God. _Dad, what the fuck happened?_

"Who's this, Matty? You finally bringing me some business?" Fogwell still had his mullet, just a little grayer than he remembered.

"This is Bucky, thought maybe he could look at Dad's fliers if they're still hanging," Matt said.

Bucky was immediately swept into a raucous round of hugs and handshakes and ' _thank you for your service_ 's and ' _sorry for your loss'_ es. When he made his way through the bulk of them, he spotted Matt leaning against the front desk with his head cocked to the side.

"Are you just distracting me?" Bucky asked when they made their way back to the street.

Matt shrugged. "More like feeling you out. Not like I can bring you back to my house for tea and biscuits or whatever you're used to."

"Not tea and biscuits. Want to come back to mine?"

"Your apartment is in Hell's Kitchen?" He didn't hide his surprise.

"Yeah. I wanted to be equally close to Mom and Dad."

Matt slowed his steps at the corner and turned, folding his stick. "Oh. They didn't tell you sooner?"

"No, part of the job was no contact with our families, at least the last few years. It's why they had to declare me dead," he said quietly. "I fucked up."

"Maybe. Runs in the family, though," Matt replied, nodding his chin toward the alley. "They killed him here. He'd been throwing fights to pay the bills. Decided to win one and - had to pay for it. He fucked up."

Bucky shuddered. Oh, _Dad._

"Helluva fight, though. Mr. Fogwell's got a copy of it on tape, if you - "

"Please tell me you weren't - you didn't see - "

"Didn't 'see' anything," Matt replied with a tired smile. "I was home, but I heard - all of it. Made it here before the cops did. Headshot, so, he went fast. He knew - that he wasn't going to make it."

Bucky scanned him. "How do you know that?"

"He made arrangements so I'd be taken care of," Matt murmured. "I didn't know at the time or I would've stopped him - "

"He probably knew you had _supersonic_ hearing, though, didn't _want_ you to stop him," Bucky said.

Matt shrugged, not denying that he had super-powered ears. Going blind must have ramped up his other senses. Didn't explain how he'd kicked Bucky's ass yesterday, but was definitely something to follow up on.

"Come on, I want you to learn the way to my place," Bucky said. He was never walking past this alley again.

* * *

"Does it hurt?" Matt asked, gently running his fingers down his forearm over the metal scales.

"Yeah. Always. Docs say there aren't any nerve sensors since it's not a real arm, but - it still hurts," Bucky replied honestly.

"I don't remember what it's like to not have a headache," Matt said. "I know it's not the same, just, did it take you a while to get used to it?"

Bucky leaned his head on the counter to match Matt pressing his ear against the arm. "I'm never going to get used to it. I don't - _remember_ losing my real one. I remember waking up with the metal one - ripping it off and then waking up with a different one. I was captured. That killed in action notification everyone got was true for a while. I wasn't - _Bucky_ for almost a year."

Matt blinked, his eyes listless without the buffer of glasses. "You were a POW? Is that why you're so buttoned up? I thought it was because you were a sniper. But - you're just on edge all the time."

"Like you?" Bucky whispered. There was no way he was more tense than this fucking kid.

"Foster care blows," Matt whispered back, confirming the answer. "But at least I can sleep."

"Can you?" How the fuck did he know Bucky couldn't sleep?

Matt raised his head and pushed his glasses back on his nose. "Yeah. As long as I'm in Hell's Kitchen, I can sleep. Maybe you need to find something that makes you feel safe enough to sleep. Or someone."

"Hey," Bucky snorted. "That's none of your business." Clint wasn't even here, he hadn't mentioned him at all!

"Fair enough, but I always sleep better when I'm not alone," Matt said. "I know all the kids and Sisters at the orphanage, you gotta find a new baseline outside of the barracks, or wherever you were sleeping before. Thanks for letting me listen to your arm."

"Oh. No problem. You need a ride - " 

"Nah, your boyfriend's waiting for me to leave," Matt said, flashing a smile as he unfolded his stick. How did he _know_ that?

"Can - will I see you again? I don't think you have a cell phone, but if you - I want to hang out," Bucky said instead of demanding a telepathy check.

"I am _desperately_ trying to repair my GPA, and I'm still working off a 'flight risk' restriction from what happened at the last group home. Ask me in a month or so?"

He couldn't wait that long. He wanted - _shit_. "Can your lawyer help?"

"Foggy's great but he's really just in charge of the trust, I've been property of the state for a while. He's helping me as a friend, don't make him start stress-eating again."

Oh, Bucky was going to do some stress baking tonight if that's how it worked. "I'd like - visitation or whatever it's called. And you're not property, Matt."

"Angst later, hang out with your friends now," Matt said, swinging his stick to tap each of Bucky's boots once in farewell before making his way to the door.

* * *

"Did Matty tell you how we met?" Foggy asked, sliding a cup of shitty coffee across the table for him.

"Not really," Bucky shrugged.

Foggy placed a thick binder on the desk beside the box of pastries Bucky brought along. "My brother Theo had just started running the family shop on his own and, like a _loser_ , was feeding the strays behind the store. Theo thought Matt was homeless until he actually talked to him. Anyway, there was a gas leak three doors down and Matt saved my brother and half the block with his magic nose. You know he can run up walls? Not like Spider-Man, more like American Ninja Warrior."

Bucky held up his hand before the friendly lawyer could drop any more info bombs on him. Foggy stuffed a fruit bar into his mouth and gave him two thumbs up. "What do I need to do to be able to visit him more often? He says he's on some kind of restriction but he's not in juvie. I should be able to see him," Bucky said.

"Who said you couldn't?" Foggy asked.

"Matt said it would be tricky if I tried to see him more," Bucky replied. "He said you handle his trust but not the rest."

Foggy rolled his eyes. "That kid. I meet with his social worker twice a month. My parents tried to snag him as a foster kid but he couldn't take the smell, went kosher for like, three months afterwards and broke my mom's heart."

"Wait, he turned you down?"

Foggy met his gaze, the levity gone from his face. "His first and only foster placement was a shitshow. The orphanage probably sounds like hell to you, it sure does to me, but Matt's settled there, probably for the first time since he lost his father. I'm glad he's got another friend in his corner, but he's finally getting into a good place after everything."

He clenched his fists. "I think I need to know more about this - everything. _Shitshow's_ a pretty strong word."

"Not strong enough. The records are sealed for good reason. Listen, the Sisters are pretty lax with visitation as long as you're an upstanding citizen and all that. If Matt wants to see you, he'll tell one of the Catholics and he'll see you - but Theo fed him scraps for three months before he got a name off him."

"Your brother fed my brother scraps and now he's kosher? Are you an actual lawyer?" Bucky blinked at him. Foggy glared back but he was distracted enough for Bucky to snatch the binder. "I want to claim next of kin, I don't want shit to do with his trust, just - I want it on paper that he's got a next of kin. It's fucking important to me."

Foggy continued to glare at him while eating a third pastry. "I can help with that."

"And talk to his social worker."

"Nope, I'll have to consult with my client before I consent to that. But you're losing all the points," Foggy added.

"I brought treats."

"Which loses you more points," Foggy said.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

Matt was poking at Steve's flexed bicep when Bucky walked into the kitchen to start preparing for tonight's 'gathering'. He thought Matt would get here first so he could prep him for meeting his friends but he should've known Steve would let himself in.

"Most people think the army pumped me up with steroids," Steve said.

"Steroids don't smell like that," Matt replied. "Hey, Bucky, this giant let me in."

"Giant?" Bucky asked, encouraged by Matt's friendly banter.

"I thought you didn't remember meeting me when you were a toddler," Steve smiled.

Matt hesitated. "It reminds me of Dr. Banner, he gave a talk a couple of years ago and had the same - chemical aftertaste."

"Bucky told me you had magic ears, didn't know it was your nose, too. Dr. Banner's a friend, but keep that to yourself, yeah?" Steve added, flushing.

"Oh. Did you get captured, too?" Matt asked quietly.

"Steve got me out, got me back," Bucky said, trying to ignore the way Steve's eyes dropped to his metal arm as if compelled by the guilt.

"I don't remember meeting you before, but Dad talked about you. Said Bucky only joined up to keep you out of trouble," Matt said.

Steve laughed, catching the joke instead of the unintended connotations. "His mom likes to tell that story, too - unfortunately, I enlisted two whole days before he did."

"Because I couldn't get a ride, Punk," Bucky protested.

"Big Jack taught me how to throw a punch," Steve confided.

Matt smiled. "Not Jimmy?"

Bucky winced. Steve laughed. "God, no, have you met Jimmy? Nah, he doesn't think too much of boxing, tried to get me into baseball."

Matt gasped dramatically. "That's awful. Not even basketball or - "

"Baseball only, he's a weirdo," Bucky said. "He's already asking if he needs to add a ticket so you can come to games with us."

"Please no. Baseball's so boring."

"Preaching to the choir, I'm pawning my ticket off to Steve," Bucky said. 

Steve shrugged. "Never turn an opportunity down for day-drinking, when you're old enough for all that," he added.

"Sure," Matt laughed. "Bucky's boyfriend and a lady are here. She's trying to convince him to take the elevator but he wants to race her up the stairs."

"I'll get them," Steve said. "They promised to be on their best behavior."

"That doesn't help much with the pair of them," Bucky said to Matt.

* * *

He was relieved when Clint and Matt got along on initial contact. Clint was nervous as hell around his Mom, Jimmy and Becca but he relaxed immediately when he heard Matt and Steve's easy banter. God, he loved his friends.

Matt didn't seem to know what to think of Natasha, but he keyed into her as Steve's significant other (they smelled like each other, which gross, but at least the kid wasn't an actual telepath). They'd been circling each other like predator and prey without knowing which was which. 

He was upstairs hunting for a board game when he overheard Matt through the heating vent. Ha, take that baby eavesdropper.

_"Is there a reason you're carrying so many weapons?"_

_"How many do you count?"_

_"Eleven, but I don't know what the things on your wrist are. Tasers?"_

_"Good ear. Steve said you can fight."_

_"I only hit women in self defense."_

The sound of scuffling was unexpected, hell, but he should've expected it. Before he could get to his feet to rescue - one of them - Natasha spoke.

_"I can teach you so many things."_

_"Teach me Russian, not the rest. I'm embracing pacifism."_

_"For fuck's sake, why?"_

_"My sparring partner says I need to find inner peace without violence."_

_"Then you need a new sparring partner."_

Bucky hurried down to the living room and rapped his metal fist on the wall. "I changed my mind, I don't want you to get along, at all, ever."

Natasha turned big, innocent doe-eyes at him, clutching Matt against her chest like a rag doll - and he allowed it out of honest shock, he hoped at least - he didn't spot any immediate injuries. "No, I claim him for Mother Russia."

"Pretty sure my Irish ancestors would disapprove," Matt said a second before he shifted to elbow her in the ribs and break out of her hold.

Bucky looped an arm around his shoulders and pointed a threatening metal finger at Natasha. "Time out. You promised to behave."

She gave him two middle fingers and stuck her tongue out.

"Oh, that's mature," Bucky groaned. "Come on, Matt, I'll make sure you two are properly chaperoned from now on."

"Bring less knives next time and a permission slip," Matt told Natasha.

Natasha lit up with a 'challenge accepted' expression.

"Yeah, not happening," Bucky muttered.

* * *

Clint was flattered when Bucky volunteered him to pick up Matt from an appointment in Chelsea. Bucky had been offering rides and politely stalking the kid since they'd reconnected so he doubted Matt actually *needed* a ride; but he couldn't fault his boyfriend for trying to find ways to put down roots in the fiercely independent kid's life.

It helped that Clint liked the kid.

"Sniper," Matt said suddenly, snapping out his arm and knocking Clint backwards a step in the same instant a bullet shattered the wood in the doorframe.

"Shit," Clint scanned the rooftops and spotted the shooter.

"Car, or van, coming in fast," Matt said, trying to free himself from where Clint had shifted to cover the fucking kid from the firefight. "Cops aren't coming, they've got someone watching the whole block, looking for - Hawk guy and Black Widow. Is that code for Spider-Man?"

"Nah, kid, worse. Damn," Clint muttered, pulling out his bow and unlocking his quiver of arrows.

"Give me a knife," Matt said, sitting up. Clint hesitated but passed him a knife. The kid turned and flung it, nailing a thug in the center of the forehead with the handle and knocking him out cold. Matt frowned. "I never get that right."

Well shit. Bucky and Steve weren't making that combat training shit up. "How are you with - "

"Baton, so much better," Matt said, snatching the offered nightstick and flinging it at the next thug, knocking him out and catching the stick on the return bounce. "We should go."

"I need to get up high," Clint said. "Can you get me on a roof?"

Matt tilted his head, listening to the buildings, Clint figured, and nodded. "I can get you higher, but if want to get to the sniper's roof, you'll have to be able to jump."

"Oh, I've got the best toys, Matty, lead the way - oh, and never mention this to your brother."

"Fine with me, he asks too many questions already and I really don't want to get into the whole training mess with him," Matt shrugged.

Dammit. Clint made a critical chaperone error already. "So it was actual training, not just karate lessons at the YMCA?" 

"Records are sealed, but nice try," Matt muttered. He passed Clint the dropped knife and motioned for him to follow.

If he didn't end up captured or arrested today, he had some new calls to make.

* * *

  
"Hey. Why do you look guilty as fuck?" Bucky asked, kissing Clint hello when he found him eating pizza on the approved eating couch.

"Your baby brother is - fucking cool," Clint groaned, flopping his head back. "And I may have abused my privileges to find out about that shitshow that's been keeping you up nights."

"And?" Bucky asked.

"And now it's going to keep me up nights. The Director called, told me to back the fuck off," Clint admitted. "Wouldn't even tell me what team handled it - "

He grabbed Clint's hand to make him look at him. "Why would my brother be involved with anything related to - "

"He's an orphan with superpowers, Bucky, and not Xavier's brand. A concerned party picked him up before your dad was cold in the ground. Did you look at his paperwork? Your dad made arrangements for him - the trust and placement at St. Agnes."

"Dad wouldn't have put him there," Bucky replied, not wanting to process the rest of it.

"But he did, he wrote it into his will but New York state decided to place him somewhere else. My question is why didn't it ping HQ that you had a blood relative involved in a top secret op?"

"He thought I was dead, why would he list me on anything?" Bucky replied. "I fixed that, Foggy has me all over his documentation now. Do I need to call the Director?"

"He was pretty adamant that we back off. He said the problem was resolved and the kid's safe."

Bucky frowned. "On a watchlist?"

"Not anymore, as soon as I told Fury he was your half-brother, he adjusted all the records. Yours, too," Clint added. "Something happens to you, SHIELD's going to assign a family detail to watch him."

"Wait, did they do that - "

Clint thumped him. "Don't be stupid, your mom still sends Christmas cards to the agents that lived next door to her while you were undercover."

* * *

"I need help," Bucky said when his mom, sister and Steve were all gathered in his kitchen. He ignored their immediate blanket of concerned faces and glared them all away. "Not whatever you're thinking."

"Um, okay, how can we help, Buck?" Steve asked, patting Rebecca's hand before she could launch into a self-care seminar.

"I don't want Matt to live in that shithole anymore. I don't care - what he thinks. I want him out, I want him here and I don't know how to make that happen." Bucky met Steve's eyes. "Your mom was a foster parent for years, you know how it works - and - " he turned to his mother. "I need you guys to back me up."

"Pause," Becca said. "I know, off the record, that he's been offered an exit from that place before, probably with less strings than you're going to offer and he said no."

Bucky ignored Steve and his mother's surprise at her statement. "If you're talking about the Nelsons - he had a good reason for that."

"The Nelsons are great," his mother said, confused.

"Butcher shop," Bucky said under his breath and Steve nodded in understanding. "Said the smell gave him panic attacks."

"He might say no," Steve said. "He hasn't had a good run of it and he's comfortable where he is."

Bucky clenched his fists slowly, careful not to let his anger show in a flashbang, but measured and controlled. He hadn't told anyone what - or who - he'd spotted during his last visit with Matt but he had a good goddamn idea of why Dad wanted Matt to be there. "Sister Maggie is a caregiver at St. Agnes."

His mother inhaled sharply. "Shut your mouth. No."

"I don't fucking know how or why - she hasn't told him anything, I think she's the mean nun that catches him breaking rules all the time but she's not watching him for the reason he thinks - " Bucky whispered. "Mom. I have to get him out of there. I have to."

"Who's Sister Maggie?" Becca asked.

"It doesn't matter, or it won't when I'm finished," his mother said with a decisive nod.

Steve sighed. "He's definitely going to say no, Buck. I don't think you should push it yet."

The fuck? "Why?"

"He's going to feel like you're trying to take control. You need to take a different approach," he said.

"I agree," Becca said, the traitor. "Make the offer, no pressure - get a room fixed up for him and just, smother him with kindness."

Steve shook his head. "No smothering. Just talk to him, Buck. Think. The kid really doesn't need you treating him like a kid, he doesn't need you to try and be his parent; he needs a brother he can trust."

"You're uninvited from this meeting," Bucky said. Steve glared at him and started to get up. "Shut up and sit down. Let me think."

"You asked for our help, you knew exactly what you were getting into," Becca said.

* * *

"This is a trap," Matt said after Bucky made his parental and friend-approved pitch.

Bucky raised his chin and the kid mirrored him. "Explain."

"You feel guilty."

"Sure."

"This won't change anything," Matt said.

"I disagree. I think we can help each other," Bucky said. "You'll have a permanent place to live, no take-backs, and you can get your grades back where you want them. I checked and you're, like, straight B's so I don't get the issue but it made that vein twitch in Steve's forehead so I'm thinking it's an overachiever thing."

Matt leaned forward and put his head between his knees. "Don't do this, man. Please?"

"Explain to me why it's a bad idea. Make me understand why this won't help us both."

"We can be friends, we can hang out but - I can't - don't make this complicated."

Bucky waited, needing a better excuse, something.

"Maybe I haven't forgiven you yet," Matt hissed out. "Dad - if you hadn't died - he would have still had a kid that wasn't a burden, a good kid, one he could be proud of - when he lost you - I'm not ready to deal with it. I'm not - fuck you."

"Matt," he whispered.

"I'd rather stay in that shithole with the woman that ditched me - at least she knows how it fucking works. Some things you can't take back. Sometimes people should stay dead." He stood up abruptly.

Bucky stood up, too, measuring his breaths. "Don't walk away from me, just - hang on and let me think."

"I - need to not be the reason everything falls apart, not this time. I'm - I can't handle it happening again, I can't, okay? I need to leave."

"What happened to Dad wasn't your fault and it wasn't my fault - don't put that on us." Bucky said, moving to block the door. "I got enough mistakes of my own, I don't have room for my parents' sins - oh, and fuck you. How do you know about your mother?"

"I hear her praying, it's hard to fucking ignore. She cries almost every night, quiet as a church mouse but I hear it," Matt hesitated. "Bans me from going to Dad's grave but doesn't have the balls to tell me to my face. She touched my shoulder once and I bit her. Hands the fuck off. She came to see me in the hospital when I lost my sight - I guess she thinks I don't know her."

Can of worms opened - more like minefield activated.

"I can't stay here, Bucky," Matt whispered.

"Yet," he added. "I want you to think about it - when you're not turned up to eleven - promise me you'll think about it."

"I have to go."


	4. Chapter 4

"All right, Bucko, we're going to have a totally dysfunctional interaction right now because for some of us, it's the best we can hope for," Clint said, walking in with both hands on Matt's hunched shoulders.

Bucky hadn't seen his brother since the clusterfuck of a conversation three days earlier but Steve and Clint both told him to 'stand the hell down' and let the dust settle.

"Hey," Bucky said, trying and failing to read Matt's face under the shadow of his hoodie and armor of his glasses.

Matt placed a shoebox on the counter and he decided not to ask about his busted knuckles for the moment. "Right."

"Your heart's in the right place, man, and you know I've got your back," Clint said, holding Matt in place. "But Matt's not a helpless orphan that can't get by on his own. All the kid wants is people to get off his back."

Bucky doubted Matt would phrase it like that, but he opened the shoebox without instruction and stared at the contents. Three thick rubber-banded rolls of cash, six different ID cards with Matt's face, a stack of paperwork with birth certificates, diplomas, employment histories - _wow_. Okay.

"Oh. Damn, Kid, I was expecting a bag of dope and some condoms, not a goddamn dossier, the fuck did you get this?" Clint blurted out, snatching the box.

"None of your business. You said you'd mediate, not take my stuff," Matt blanched when his hoodie slipped back. The left side of his face was dark with bruising.

"Time out, what happened to your face?"

Matt didn't raise his chin in defiance and Bucky had a rush of worry when he raised his hand to his cheek instead, almost defeated. "I lost a fight I could've won."

"The hell does that mean?" Bucky whispered.

"Doesn't catch a restriction if he's on the losing end of the fight," Clint answered. "This stuff looks legit, Bucky, he should keep this."

Bucky ignored him and took a bag of peas out of the freezer. He pressed it against Matt's cheek without asking permission. "If you want to pull a runner, I won't stop you."

"I can make it work where I am," Matt whispered, closing his eyes.

"Why can't you make it work here?" He carefully folded his arms around the oversized hoodie and gave his brother the hug they both needed.

"Why do you want me to?"

"Because I'm having a hell of a time getting used to life out here and I finally have time to hang out with you and - everything's not about you, Matty," Bucky whispered. "If you stayed here, I wouldn't worry all the fucking time and - I wouldn't be on your back like those nuns that glare at me when I come visit. How do you even deal with it?"

"I'm blind, makes the glaring easier to ignore," Matt mumbled.

"Seriously, how do you have a visa for Latveria?" Clint interrupted.

Bucky pulled back and pressed his flesh hand against Matt's uninjured cheek. "Matt. I can keep the fridge stocked and make sure you get to school and back. If I promise to stay off your back, can we give this a shot?"

"I don't think St. Agnes will let you return me if it doesn't work out," Matt said.

"Then we'll make sure it works out."

"Aw. And then you can get your uncle Clint into Latveria," Clint said.

Bucky glared at him without letting go of Matt. "Good job mediating, Asshole."

"He followed me, said I had to go here or St. Agnes. I'm probably in trouble for being gone a few days but I haven't heard an Amber alert yet," Matt said.

"Not it," Clint said after a beat.

"Go wash up, you know your way around and I'll handle your AWOL status. I'm not going to let you change your mind."

"I'm taking the peas," Matt said, shuffling out of the room.

Clint draped his arms around his shoulders. "Am I the best boyfriend or what?"

"Thank you. Where'd you find him?"

"Snitches get stitches," Clint said, smiling into his kiss. "He's a good kid, now it's on you to make sure he stays that way."

* * *

_"What? No, why? You never came inside at the orphanage why - no - he's my half-brother, Asshole, we have the same dad - it's none of your business - just tell me where you are and - oh my God, **why**? How do you even know each other? No - oh my **God** \- "_

Bucky leaned through the window and glanced at Matt perched on the fire escape with his new cell phone pressed against his ear. He thought they stocked the punk's closet with more colors than black and gray but tonight was all black down to the sneakers like always. "Everything all right? If you're sneaking out, you can use the door to save the heating bill, you know."

"I'm not, I'm listening for something. For a friend, it's just easier to filter outside without all the appliances. And heating," Matt confessed.

Some of that made sense to Bucky but not all of it. He went to the couch and grabbed the fleece blanket from his mom's housewarming gift and a hoodie from the clean laundry pile. He shoved both through the window. Matt made a confused noise, distracted but tucked the hoodie over his head without instruction and snuggled into the blanket.

"Thanks. I can explain later, if I need to," Matt conceded.

"Fair enough." He could deal with secrets, sure he could.

Clint was half-kitted out when Bucky returned to the bedroom. "Did you get called in?"

He shrugged into his flak jacket. "Backup, maybe, something's kicking up at the docks but I think it's X-Men related. Can I put on some coffee?"

"Kid's got it on already, he's on some kind of super-secret stakeout on the fire escape, so don't leave the pot empty."

Clint glanced at him, curious. "You're letting him do that?"

"Do what? Be weird on the fire escape? I do it all the time," Bucky shrugged.

"You said stakeout," Clint said.

The distant staccato of automatic gunfire drifted through the windows.

"Stand down, friendly fire or whatever," Matt said when Bucky and Clint were at his window in the next moment.

Clint glared at Bucky, hard and directed his voice to Matt. "You know what's going down at the docks?"

"Yup, that's the diversion for what's going down in the warehouse district," Matt said absently. "You got a ten minute window since they blocked the bridge - no I can't call you an Uber, what happened to your van? How is that my problem?" Matt spoke into the phone.

Clint reached out and grabbed Matt's free hand and pressed it against his vest so he could feel it. "Tell me what I'm about to walk into."

"Oh. I don't know details. My friends are busting up a bad science lab and saving some kids. I thought you had the weekend off," Matt replied. "Hang on, it's almost over."

Clint started to protest but Matt spoke into his phone again. "You got me in trouble, day three of my shiny new foster home and you're getting me in trouble."

"Kid, we probably need to meet your friends," Bucky said, wincing in preparation for the expected denial.

"You want the Marine, the alien or the mutant? For some reason they're working together tonight," Matt grumbled.

Clint sighed heavily. "Venom's not allowed in New York so please don't say - "

"His Instagram shows him in Arizona," Matt replied too quickly.

"How do you know these people?" Bucky hissed.

"They pay me to play spotter on jobs," Matt replied, standing up on the railing like he was a fucking gymnast on a beam. "I don't know if you want to invite them over, they might be like vampires and abuse the invitation."

"We're getting you a legit part-time job, this is - not cool. I need to consult with my team but - I think you're going to get grounded," Bucky said.

"I'm still legally on your property and under your visual supervision," Matt replied. "What rule am I breaking?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow," Bucky muttered. He needed to text Steve.

Matt raised the phone. "They're onto you, Frank, nobody's put the BOLO out on Wade yet, maybe let him take the van?"

Clint threw up his hands and started stripping out of this holsters. "I'm getting coffee, you - " he pointed at Bucky. "Need to handle this."

Bucky flipped him off. "Matt, tell your friends that you're living with the Winter Soldier."

"What's the Winter Soldier?" Matt asked. Bucky heard Castle's curse through the speaker and Matt had to move the phone away. "Code name?"

"Right. If they need you for a side hustle, they gotta go through me now. And this isn't a foster home, Matt. Tell them that," Bucky added.

"Okay. I guess I'm sorry?" Matt replied.

"Wait until I figure out what rules you broke, I'm not sure we're on the same page yet but we have to be in the same book. And make sure they pay you, it's too cold for you to be out doing this for free," Bucky said, leaving the kid to his work.

Clint passed him a cup of coffee when he joined him in the kitchen. "I don't know who I feel worse for, you or the kid. You gotta admit, it's not a bad gig considering the cash we saw in his box."

"You were the one that said I had to enforce shit. Venom doesn't usually eat kids but the Punisher and Deadpool are loose cannons," Bucky considered.

"Yeah, but that goes around a lot in our kind of work," Clint hummed.

Matt shuffled into the kitchen and took Bucky's mug and the stool beside him. "It's not what you think. It's not, like, a side hustle, not _really_."

"Then what is it?" Bucky asked.

"Eddie uses me to check his sources because of the polygraph trick," Matt shrugged. "Vee and I gossip about celebrities and eat junk food, he's cool but they're not around a lot. Frank's - he sits with me at Mass on Sundays and glares at Sister Maggie so she stays exactly six steps away."

Oh boy, _yeah_ , Bucky was going to have to deal with the Sister soon. 

Matt lowered his voice. "I take Wade to the shrink on Tuesdays because he's really committed to staying on that Xavier guy's good side. So Frank and Wade are like Foggy, they're adult friends who I can call for specific emergencies. Sure, they might be dangerous in certain situations but so am I, you know?"

Goddammit, those fuckers were looking after his brother down to giving him an allowance. "Learning curve. They don't take you out on jobs?"

"No, Frank and Wade both met me when I was hustling pool and they decided my skills should extend further than making bikers angry and taking their money," Matt confessed. "I followed Eddie for weeks until I met Vee and found out why he sounds like - what he sounds like."

Clint raised his hand. "One question and I'll shut up again - do you have any friends your own age?"

Matt blinked. "My boyfriend turns seventeen in a month, does that count?"

Boyfriend?

"I think you're about to get grounded again, forget I asked," Clint whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Adding a couple more chapters to this. Fingers crossed I can get out some of the scenes I didn't get to in the first 4 chapters. But first, have some exposition. :D

"Promise not to fight?" Matt greeted The Punisher at the door.

Castle cupped Matt's chin to mimic making eye contact. "You realize how silly that sounds coming out of your mouth?"

"He's my brother," Matt replied quietly.

"Go say hello to Vee. Let me have some words with the Soldier," Frank replied.

Bucky tried not to clench his fists at this mass murderer coddling his baby brother.

"What kind of words?" Matt demanded. "And he's Bucky now, he's off the clock."

_Aw_ , fucking punk.

"Have you let him check your care and handling instructions yet? Didn't think so. Go - I'll brief him while you go say hello to Vee and Wade. Sound fair?"

"You never play fair," Matt sighed, motioning to Bucky. "Hey. This is Frank."

"Didn't think they let you out to play without Cap holding your leash," Castle said. Matt elbowed him hard in the side, making him grunt. 

Bucky raised a metal middle finger to respond. "Go see your friends, Matt, I can handle Castle. If Eddie or Deadpool want to come up, tell them the apartment number."

Matt hesitated. "You already know all of them?"

"Your brother's a legend, kid, get outta here if you ever want to get permission for playdates with Vee again," Frank said and Matt - the fucker - listened and darted into the hallway. He turned to Bucky with an oddly searching look. "You haven't briefed him on - "

"Not with code names, he knows I was brainwashed and working for the wrong side for a while. Care and handling instructions?"

"Yeah. We've been trying to get that kid out of the orphanage since we met him - never heard him mention a brother. If you're the real deal - then we should talk."

* * *

"Fourteen year difference, Dad and Mom hooked up in high school, stayed married long enough to not make me a real bastard. I visited with him a few times a month, he came to our house for holidays until he met Matt's mom and got hitched again when I was 14. Matty was 4 when I enlisted. I was in special ops when he went blind - and I had to give up contact with everyone when our team got reclassified."

Frank winced. "Damn."

"They didn't tell me about Dad until discharge," Bucky sighed. "Find out my brother's dropped in some stuck up orphanage because he didn't have a living relative - not what I fucking expected."

"He won't leave that place. Said his dad wanted him there," Frank said. "Who's the nun?"

Fuck. "She ever talk to you?"

"No, but she never takes her eyes off the kid. He doesn't like her. Is she his mother?"

"Sister Maggie Murdock," Bucky said, ignoring Frank's carefully blank expression. Fucking soldier cared way too much about his brother. 

"Dad was a hard-core Catholic, prayers before bed, church twice a week and confession as needed. Maggie - she walked away from her vows to be with him. Mom despised her - it caused a lot of drama at home because Jimmy thought she was jealous, but it was - Mom said she **knew** it wouldn't end well. Says the post-partum depression hit Maggie hard and fast and - Dad hated it, but the convent took her back, got her well."

"Matty know that?" Frank whispered.

"I don't think Dad told him why she left, at least not while I was still legally allowed to talk to him," Bucky admitted. "He kept in touch with her, had a locked drawer full of letters, but shit, that was ten years ago. I had no idea she was this close the whole time."

"To be fair, I think she has _tried_ to talk to him," Frank said, lowering his eyes to the coffee mug. "He's tight with the priest, Father Lantom."

Bucky remembered him. "He was close with Dad, good to know he's still around."

"He told you about the foster home?"

He settled his glare on Castle. "No."

Frank took a sip of coffee and ignored his glare. "Matty doesn't know Nick Fury from Adam, but me and Wade are pretty sure he's the one that got him out."

"Out," Bucky repeated. He shook it off. "He told you what happened?"

"Told Vee," Frank admitted. "Fucking monster convinced him to let Eddie tell us so we could watch his back."

He closed his eyes. So Matt would tell an alien before he'd tell his brother?

"He didn't tell us, won't say a peep about whatever those - fuckers - did to him. Wade's seen him fight, though, said it's clear he picked up the skills even if he rejected the doctrine. He knows some mutants that got mixed up in it - apparently certain ninja cults make a rule of starting young."

Ninja. Cult. What. The. Fuck. "The hell they want with my brother?" Bucky hissed.

"To make him a warrior for their cause. Old guy that fostered him was blind, taught him how to deal with his senses, groomed him like he gave a shit - just didn't take into account how Catholic the little punk is." Frank met his gaze. "I got a lot problems with God, didn't think I'd step foot inside a church again after - after everything - but Matty's faith, or your Dad's - whatever - kept him sane, kept him out of their fucking cult."

"I'll start taking him to Mass," Bucky said.

"Nah, don't mess with the routine. But **do** ask him about that year he spent with the blind guy. Make him show you his back, make him introduce you to his ninja friends - he has 'em, you know?"

"I found out he has a boyfriend, like, an hour ago," Bucky admitted.

"Oh, that asshole, yeah. Don't think he's anything to worry about, guy's scared shitless of Wade."

"I can't believe he got recruited by The Hand," Bucky muttered.

Frank raised both eyebrows. "Huh. Not The Hand, The Chaste."

_Fuck_. "So blind asshole must be Stick," Bucky stated. "I'm going to kill him - "

"He's dead," Eddie said, stepping into the room with a muted wave.

"Where's - " 

Eddie motioned vaguely toward the door. "Wade took him to visit the mutants while he was dropping the kids from tonight off. How do you know Stick? Who the fuck are you and where did you come from?"

"Battlin' Jack's older kid, the soldier," Frank answered. "Special ops."

Eddie paused and gave a solemn nod. "Okay."

Bucky frowned. "Just like that?"

"Vee says he had a brother, a dead one."

"How do you know Stick's dead?" Bucky demanded.

The shift from human to gelatinous alien creature was faster than he expected from the SHIELD videos but Venom towered over him in an instant. His tongue lolled out in a wide grimace, or grin, who could tell, as he spoke. "They gave Matty his head. An honorable offering, spoils of war - but not for humans. He did not appreciate decapitation as a recruitment incentive," Venom hissed.

"Christ," Bucky whispered. "His fucking head?"

"Matty feels responsible for his death. You should fix that."

"Why would he?" Bucky asked.

Eddie reappeared with a frustrated expression. "Sorry. Did he give us permission to tell him?"

Frank shrugged. "Enough. Got the scoop on his Ma, so it's fair play to share what we know."

"Matty called his social worker when shit started getting crazy," Eddie said. "Social worker filed a report, Hand caught wind of it and turned up instead, killed everyone in the house."

"Your CO caught wind of it, too, turned up around the same time they found the kid," Frank finished.

That didn't map. "Found him? You're telling me the kid who kicked me in the balls the first time I saw him after I got back didn't put up a fucking fight when ninjas started - "

"He was in the box. Vee makes it sound like - sensory deprivation or something - horrific. Don't think it was for his own safety, old bastard used it as punishment, but - " Eddie shuddered but recovered without loosing the alien. "It kept him off the field long enough for the agents to turn up."

Frank turned to Eddie with a scalding expression. "You never told us that. He was in a box?"

Eddie held up his hands blankly. "Ripped off all his fingernails trying to get out, but The Hand didn't find him until they'd gone through the rest. Found Stick trying to get the lock open and took his head. Vee and Matty have similar feelings about - _boxes_."

"Are you going to be able to handle him?" Frank asked Bucky.

"'Handle' him? He's my brother, Asshole, he doesn't need to be 'handled'. He needs a fucking home," Bucky snapped.

Eddie shook out of his thoughts and turned to him with an apologetic expression. "Hey. He didn't mean it that way."

"Vee and Wade just want to hang out with him, Eddie and I try to - look out for him," Frank said after a beat.

Eddie sighed. "Vee would like it on record that he is still learning the proper diet for human foundlings."

Frank grumbled under his breath.

"He can't turn off his ears, he hears shit, all the time," Eddie said, glaring at Frank. Bucky could see why Matt was surprised to find them working an op together. "So trying to keep him out of dangerous situations can be a trial - we've learned that giving him the heads up is safer for everyone, eliminates surprises."

Frank nodded. "He'll risk his life in a second if he thinks someone he cares about is in danger. So with your history and friend set - you'd be better off keeping him in the loop than trying to hide anything."

"He knows a lot of the military lingo from talking down Wade when he sleepwalks, so - he probably knows more than you think about mad scientists and brainwashing," Eddie added.

"He runs with a bunch of Xavier's kids and God knows some of them have been through some shit." Frank straightened up suddenly, pushing his empty mug aside. "Can I leave you my number?"

"Not to your burner, but if you've got a clean line, I'll take it," Bucky decided after a beat. "I'm retired but don't want to get caught with your digits, if you know what I mean." 

Eddie flicked him a business card. "Vee insists we see Matt when we're in town so I always give him a head's up if I'm on the East Coast. Retirement means you won't share with your ex-employers?"

"None of my business if you're not fucking with my brother," he replied.

"Kid didn't tell us he was relocated 'til tonight, didn't say a peep about you. Even if you haven't told him your secrets, he's been keeping them anyway," Frank said. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up - some bonding and Bucky gets to meet some more of Matt's friends.


	6. Chapter 6

"So, how much trouble am I in?" Matt asked, slinking through the window from the fire escape.

Bucky patted the back of the couch and his brother sank into the cushion. "None. I'm in a shit-ton, though. Didn't expect a lecture from The Punisher."

"He means well, most of the time," Matt said. "What did he say?"

"He knows my story, lot of soldiers and enhanced folks do - cautionary tale or mad scientist goals - The Winter Soldier's a - "

"Legend," Matt whispered.

"Right. Steve - he got shot up with an experimental serum, turned him into the perfect soldier with enhanced healing and instincts. He could probably hang with you on the hearing, but never got the hang of bomb-sniffing. When I got captured - they gave me the same juice, think it burned off my arm - but didn't turn me into the Hulk and didn't quite turn me into Steve. I still scar, can still get drunk if I want," he shrugged, trying to finish his story without losing his nerve. 

"They brainwashed me, electrocuted my brain, hurt like a motherfucker from what I can remember - programmed me to obey mindlessly according to specific trigger words. Sent me after my best friend - I shot Steve, shot fucking Clint in both arms, almost killed Natasha - "

Matt put his hand on his arm, squeezing. "You don't have to talk about it."

"Yeah, I do. If you've been talking Deadpool down when he's sleepwalking, then you probably need to know why living with me is different, when you can help and when you need to call for fucking help. They made me a weapon, Matty, with an on and off switch but no safety. It took a long time for me to get control back. They'd do anything to get me back."

"Never," Matt whispered.

Bucky smiled, taking his hand. "Right. We wiped 'em out and I don't have to worry about them - just gotta worry about you now."

Matt made a complicated face. "Who were they?"

"Called HYDRA. You hear even a whisper of anything related to them - you tell me or Steve, nobody else. You ever hear me speaking Russian or German or - hell, anything other than English - get the fuck away from me. Okay?"

Matt nodded firmly. "Got it."

Bucky waited, hoping he was doing this whole 'heart to heart' correctly.

" _Right_. Frank probably told you to look at my back, didn't he?"

"Mentioned some ninjas," Bucky confirmed.

Matt took his hand back and scrubbed it over his face, taking off his glasses with a determined expression. "Shit. It's - _shit_."

"Marks?" Bucky whispered.

"They marked me - with a brand, that's what Frank's talking about. But - I fixed it and haven't - please don't tell them." He didn't give Bucky a chance to respond before pulling his shirts off - hoodie and all - and displaying his back.

The stripes from a cane or whip would be traumatic enough but the defined shape of an iron on his lower back churned in his guts. "Goddammit, Matt - they - "

"I fixed it. Stick branded me as property of The Chaste, but I'm not - a fucking puppet," Matt said. "It's bullshit, hurt like a bitch, but - worth it."

"There had to be an easier way - " Bucky blurted out.

"The Hand uses tattoos with magic ink - I cut Yukio's mark off for her, she burned mine off for me," Matt said, shivering.

"They'll never take you again, Matty. The Hand, or The Chaste."

Matt pulled his layers back on and replaced his glasses. "And HYDRA will never take you."

"Agreed. I spent too many years away from my family telling lies so I want to do it differently now. Just because Dad never figured out how to stop fighting, doesn't mean we can't do better," Bucky added.

"That's fair," Matt said, sinking back into the couch. "What else?"

"Well, there's the unresolved issue of Sister Maggie."

* * *

"Father Lantom, long time," Bucky nodded in greeting to the priest.

He glanced at Matt, visibly alarmed. "Matthew, are you - "

"This is Bucky," Matt said.

Father Lantom's face lit up in shock. "James - well, that's a mystery solved, come in," he said, cuffing Matt on the back of the head. "You could've said something."

"I have a lot of stuff going on," Matt grumbled.

"The social worker wouldn't tell us who took custody, it was highly irregular, but also - it was Matthew so," Father Lantom teased.

Matt shrugged Bucky's hand from his shoulder and checked his tie. "I have to get to class but - Bucky has permission to talk to Sister Maggie. He won't tell anyone, and I trust you to blab less than my other friends. We were doing fine until he talked to them and now he has all the questions."

Bucky reclaimed his shoulder for a squeeze. "We're still doing fine - and you seem to forget that I went to Dad's wedding when he married her - not like I can just ignore her existence."

Matt flinched and - wow - maybe he had forgotten. "Shit."

"Go to class, Steve's picking you up for the farmer's market this afternoon and I'll see you at home. Okay?" Bucky waited until Matt nodded and said goodbye to the priest and slipped out of the room.

Father Lantom huffed out a surprised laugh. " **Wow**."

"Don't jinx us, we're both flying by the seat of our pants with this," Bucky admitted. "My military service was classified so I didn't know about - any of this."

"Thank you for your service, James," Father Lantom said, sitting down. "I suppose you've heard that your father didn't handle the news of your death very well."

"If you count Matty losing his temper and letting it slip, then yeah," Bucky sighed.

"He didn't handle Matthew's accident very well, either," Lantom added. "Or his divorce, either of them."

Bucky frowned.

"Jack did everything in his power to be a good father for his boys. Except give up boxing, find honest work, ask for help - but yeah, everything," Father Lantom said. 

He held up both hands. "I get it. Dad was human, made mistakes like the rest of us."

"Matthew doesn't."

"Pretty sure he does, he's just not ready to admit it yet, I don't want to push my luck," Bucky sighed. He glanced up when the door reopened, expecting Matt but finding - well, who he'd come for.

Sister Maggie blinked at Bucky, took a step back and left the room. He glanced at Father Lantom who shrugged. 

She was back within moments with a cardboard box and pushed it into his hands, freezing again when she spotted the metal one.

"What's this?"

"It's yours. Matthew won't take it and I don't deserve it."

Bucky moved it aside and stared down the diminutive nun. "This could have all been avoided if you talked to him."

"I tried and he bit me."

"He knocked me flat when I first got back - but I tried again. I don't know much about the Catholic stuff - are you not allowed to talk to him or - " Bucky started.

Father Lantom cleared his throat and reminded them they weren't alone in this upside down parent conference. "It's Matthew's decision."

"I wrote him a letter every year on his birthday. Jack - he never thought it was a good time to give them to him - if he'd just told someone what he was thinking before - "

Bucky hadn't calculated that Maggie was still in love with his Dad. Grieved him. Fuck.

"He coddled Matthew, so overprotective but he was supposed to take care of himself, too - I - I'm so sorry, Bucky."

Her voice broke on his name and he remembered how much she hated his nickname and found himself embracing her. "Yeah, me, too."

Maggie stepped back and motioned to the box, swiping at her eyes and refreshing her non-expression. "Those are all the letters, the ones between me and Jack and the ones to Matthew. I won't - approach him without permission but when - if - he ever wants to see me, you both know where I am."

Well, _shit_.


	7. Chapter 7

Matt took the letters from his mother without a word and Bucky never saw them again. He told Bucky to keep the correspondence between her and their Dad and Bucky put them in his safe for private, hopefully intoxicated future review.

Bucky made breakfast and walked Matt to school most mornings, not because he was overprotective or worried - mostly just because he didn't have shit to do when Clint was out of town.

He was shopping his options, maybe some college courses like Steve or volunteering with Becca or Sarah, or maybe just a job like his mom suggested. He couldn't be a stay at home dad to his teenage brother forever - even his VA counselor made that clear.

He liked having his brother around even if they both had to make adjustments. Bucky needed to know where Matt was at all times, had to argue about juvenile records and truancy laws to make the kid understand that it wasn't a lockdown, just common courtesy. Matt wanted to know who was allowed in the apartment and requested an introduction to any and all strangers that came into his space - which was perfect because Bucky had yet to lay eyes on any of his alleged underaged friends.

It took two weeks - a lunch with Foggy and three brunches with Sarah - before he spotted Sister Maggie and Matt speaking to each other outside of St. Agnes. No hug or cheek kiss, but she put her hand on his shoulder and he nodded and tapped his way to Bucky's side.

"So - "

"Nope. Work in progress, that's all," Matt replied, whacking him with his stick before folding it up and taking Bucky's arm. "I might have a friend over tonight."

"Huh. Like, overnight or - "

"No, he just might come by. I'll introduce you if he comes inside," Matt said.

Bucky grinned. "Is this the boyfriend?"

"Never mind, I'll meet him on the street," Matt grumbled. "It might not happen or it may be late. He wants to see where I live now."

"Then he should want to meet who you live with now, too, right?"

"Shut up."

* * *

Bucky had barely raised himself from the kitchen stool after the knock before Matt sprinted past him to get to the door. He liked when the kid actually acted like a kid and didn't bother to scold him for running in the house. He wandered to the foyer and sized up the taller, almost-white haired kid standing in the hall.

"Pietro, this is Bucky. Bucky, this is Pietro and we're going - " Matt introduced with a short wave and turn.

"Hold it," Bucky said, stopping both kids mid-step. "It's after ten on a school night. Is it an emergency?"

"No?" Matt answered.

Bucky waited expectantly.

"My sister needs a ride home," Pietro said with an accent, maybe Sokovian?

"You need my kid for that?" Bucky asked, still suspicious.

"No, but she wants to see him. Everyone is still - surprised - that he was taken from the nuns," Pietro said.

"Where do you live?" Bucky asked. 

Pietro avoided his gaze. "We are temporarily staying with our father. Very temporarily."

"Their dad's, kind of, a dick," Matt said quietly.

"Professor X says we have to give him a chance," Pietro murmured.

Bucky sighed and raised his metal arm. "You're one of Magneto's twins?"

"How do you know everything?" Matt groaned.

He rolled his eyes and looped an arm around Matt's shoulders. "Oh, so Mr. Eavesdropper here is upset someone else knows stuff they shouldn't? I know your sister, Wanda's great, but I don't know if Matt should be associating with - thot's."

"I am insulted," Pietro said with a flattered smile.

"Did you just call him - " Matt started.

"Never mind. Don't make him late to school," Bucky warned. "You know how old he is, right?"

"Really?" Matt sighed.

"I know everything I need to about Matt. I don't know anything about *you*, so if he has your permission - I'll have him home in an hour."

Matt twitched and Pietro hesitated, his confidence muted at the reaction. "He's my brother, we have the same dad."

Bucky hid his smile at the frosty-haired kid's annoyed expression. "You could have opened with that."

"I didn't know you were going to start a fight about it."

"You start fights with everyone, it's kind of your thing," Pietro huffed. "I'll bring him back once we get Wanda."

Bucky waited until the door was closed and locked behind them to laugh. He had to send a group text stat.

They were going to make this safe family home thing work.

* * *

He knew immediately when he woke up that he hadn't gone to bed. Something - everything was wrong.

He blinked darkness out of his eyes and slowly started to process the chaos behind the black. Gunshots, clanging metal, grunts from thrown punches - wait. Wait. He shifted and realized his wrists are cuffed in familiar - supersoldier approved - restraints. He was sitting, back against the wall and barefoot. His eyes finally adjusted to the dim light - he was in a closet. Matt's bedroom closet to be precise.

"Oh, he's waking up," a small voice whispered. He shifted and recognized the slippery ninja girl who conveniently disappeared whenever Bucky tried to meet her. Shit. 

"Matt - where - " he started.

Matt appeared between the hanging clothes with a stark frown. "Comrade?"

The girl elbowed him. "He wasn't speaking Russian."

"Matty - what happened?"

"You flipped out, something those assholes said triggered you," Matt whispered.

"So we choked you out and called Wade," the girl said.

Fuck. He never wanted the kid - anyone - to see - 

"Didn't know if you'd get in trouble if we called Steve or Nat and Clint didn't answer," Matt said. "This is Yukio."

"We're not allowed to help since it's a 'kill or be killed' situation and Logan would totally dock points from my GPA if he found out," Yukio said.

Matt held up a small blue pouch. "Earplugs, in case they try to flip you back on, Wade says - "

"Cuffs first, does he know sign language?" Bucky asked, leaning forward.

"I don't think so but he knows hand signals - he's not going to leave any of them alive if you don't tell him to stand down," Matt replied, freeing his hands.

Bucky pulled his brother into a tight hug, noting his rabbit heartbeat. "Hey."

"They didn't see us. They're soldiers, not ninjas - " Matt mumbled into his shoulder, actually hugging back.

Bucky cupped both cheeks and kissed his forehead. "You're awesome, Kid, but - "

"Earplugs, gun, katana - " Matt interrupted, pushing weapons into his hands. "We can hug it out later."

"You can't let some random use your sword," Yukio whispered.

"He's my brother and I only use it to train with you - " Matt countered.

Bucky waggled his metal fingers at the girl. "I'll pass on the katana, are you both going to keep standing down?"

"I don't report to you, but we'll wait 'til Wade calls it," Yukio said. Bucky pushed the earplugs in and adjusted to the dulled sound.

Matt let out a low whistle before he flipped the lock and flung open the closet door. Deadpool stepped into his line of sight, tilted his head and offered his hand. Bucky took it and joined the fray.

He'd never worked with Deadpool, or Wade Wilson, but he dispatched the HYDRA goons with glee, his rumored chatterbox demerits not an issue with the earplugs.

He didn't want to think about how he'd been triggered after being promised he was fully deprogrammed - how he'd apparently let in these goddamn fucking assholes into his home when his baby brother was right here - he didn't want to think about anything but killing these squid bastards - 

Deadpool caught his attention when he was pistol-whipping the guy in the kitchen. He vaguely counted six dead or immobilized - but mostly dead - guys in the living room. He pulled out one of the earplugs. "Cops on the way. You need the kids for debrief or - "

"You got a safe place?" 

"Yeah, Yukio's not due back at Xavier's until the weekend, she'll just have to share the good couch," Deadpool said, whistling and drawing the kids out of hiding like the pied piper.

Matt came to his side and poked him in the chest. "You all right?"

"No, you?"

"Little hungry, but not so bad," Matt replied, reaching up to pat his cheek. "You sure you want me to go to Wade's?"

"Someone will need to talk to you, probably Nat. How'd - " Bucky started.

Matt tilted his head toward the busted door. "They buzzed the apartment, said something, trigger word that I'm not going to repeat right now, and you - went away."

Yukio spoke up from under Wade's arm. "Matt could tell right away, your pulse and chemistry changed."

"The Hand mind-controls a lot of their soldiers, I knew something happened. But you're okay now - "

Bucky wished that were true. "Hang out with your friends for a while, I'll - call you when - "

"Call him in half an hour, no matter what," Deadpool suggested. "I don't need him worrying all over my place. Come on, kids, I was halfway through the last season of the Real Housewives of Gotham and I'm invested."


	8. Chapter 8

  
"Well, this is a goddamn mess," Fury announced as he walked into the apartment and took in the stack of bodies in the corner - the three survivors bound and gagged on top of the others.

"Who you telling?" he muttered, accepting Steve's hug and Natasha's hand on his back, steady with restrained panic.

"Where's - "

"Safe, sent him to a friend's," Bucky cut her off. "He knows the trigger word they used; his friend helped him choke me out, brought me back."

Steve released him, searching his face. "Knocking you out didn't break your programming before - "

"Probably a failsafe, turn you off for retrieval. Did you fight - " Natasha started again.

"That's all he told me. They choked me out and called Wade," Bucky repeated blankly.

Fury made a disgusted sound. "Wilson? Why didn't he call - "

"He tried Clint first, said he didn't want to get me in trouble telling anyone else until - does it matter? My head's still - "

Steve shook him. "Hey. Yes, they triggered your programming, but your mind's still your own. Call Matty, ask him - if it was a failsafe trigger then you probably shut down and stared at the wall waiting for instructions - neutralized, are you listening?"

"You knew they buried triggers, Bucky, this isn't a setback," Natasha said, holding up her phone and swiping it to speaker while it was still ringing.

"Hey, Nat. Are you at my house?" Matt answered and he immediately felt better hearing his brother's voice.

"Yeah, but you could've called me sooner."

"I've been scolded thoroughly already, DP doesn't like calamari," Matt replied. "How's Bucky?"

"Present. She's got you on speaker," Bucky said.

"I can tell. Do you want me to come back or - "

"Not yet. He gave us the bare bones explanation, can you tell us more about the switch?" Natasha asked.

"Oh. I don't make the best witness, but - everything was fine, I finally introduced him to Yukio and he was giving us shit - "

Bucky shook his head, not remembering that at all.

"The house phone rang and some weird guy said the word and you buzzed them in. But you - changed when he said the word, you went stiff, your arm, like, shut off and you stood up."

"He didn't attack you or - " Natasha clarified.

"No - Yukio said it was like he was standing at attention, like a soldier, not like the Hand's psychic control, but like Logan's kind of PTSD. I called his name a couple of times and he just stood there - so we made the executive call to knock him out, I could hear the bad guys coming up the stairs and elevator and it sounded like a lot of them."

Fury cleared his throat and Matt went silent. Bucky winced, remembering their history. "Reason for calling the merc with a mouth?"

"Proximity. Helps that I trust him more than you," Matt replied after a beat.

"Goddamn X-Men taking recruits out of the cradle," Fury grumbled.

"Deadpool's not an X-Man and he got there faster than your people. Bucky - are you really all right? Wade says you shouldn't let them take you anywhere and you definitely shouldn't sign anything."

Fucking kid was going to make him start crying in front of all these assholes.

"We're on it," Steve said, squeezing Bucky's shoulder. "I'm sticking with him like glue and they know full well what happens if they try and fuck with him."

"It might take more than a couple of days, Matty," Bucky sighed, remembering the quarantine and the testing.

Matt was quiet for a moment, considering. "Please don't make me stay with your mom. Anything but that."

"Stay with Wilson," Nick said. "We'll need you to come in and give Steve the trigger word, nobody else gets to hear it. Did your friend hear it?"

"It wasn't a language we know. Spanish, Latin, sexy Romanian - I got it, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese - she's on it - but it wasn't any of those."

"Romanian's sexy again? Noted," Natasha hummed.

"Wait 'til I tell you who he's dating," Steve whispered and Bucky had to pinch him before Natasha killed him with her glare at keeping a secret.

"Is that okay with Wade?" Bucky asked, assuming it would be okay with Matt. They waited for the muffled mumbles on his end of the line.

"Yeah, he'll bring me as long as your - expletive expletive - friends don't shoot at him."

Fury shrugged.

"We'll call you as soon as we get to HQ," Steve said.

"Thanks," Matt replied. "And I'll check on Mrs. Barnes and Ms. Becca once you give me - the redacted script."

"I want to tell you to stop listening to Wade so hard right now, but - I'll call you soon," Bucky promised.

Nick clapped him on the back when Natasha killed the line. "Need to get the kid in some more language classes."

"He wants to be a lawyer, Nick, not an agent."

"Yeah, he just does that as a hobby," Natasha winked at him.

* * *

Bucky was exhausted and thoroughly wrung out when Steve left him after his fourth day with the deprogrammers. He's too wound up to sleep but the scientists and the psychics continued to say it was an 'easy fix' since they knew the trigger but it's Bucky's fucking brain so he didn't listen to them.

"Ugh, your mom with all the hugs and questions, how did you survive?" Matt asked, swinging his stick through the door with Steve following behind him.

"Damn, kid, it's - what happened to your hand?" Bucky zeroed in on his casted left hand.

"Yeah, tell him what happened to your hand," Steve grinned, with a wink, closing the door behind him to give them what privacy he was allowed.

"In my defense - the house rules at Wade's are different than ours," Matt frowned. "So I was completely valid in my choice to punch Logan in the face."

"Wolverine?" Bucky blurted out. "His bones are metal."

Matt raised his busted hand. "I'm aware, but I'm now three points ahead on the ambush tally - still the only kid that can get the jump on that hairy bastard."

Bucky grabbed him by both shoulders and gave him a shake. "You're never staying overnight with Wade again."

"Your mom is quilting," Matt replied and Bucky groaned. "She made me touch different fabric squares for your hope quilt."

"God, is she that worried?"

"Yup," Matt said, tilting his head as he mapped the utilitarian cell. "Do you still need to be watched like a test mouse?" 

"Yup," Bucky sighed. "You gave Steve the word?"

"Couple of days ago, Clint - who is not allowed to do home repairs when the building has a super - says they've already deactivated the trigger and are just making extra sure now," Matt answered. "It sounds shady as fuck to me but - Steve's with you and his mom says that he's got a lot of leverage on these guys."

Bucky blinked at him. "You talked to Sarah?"

"I asked her to come when I saw your Mom, it's how I found out the quilting is a cry for help," Matt hummed.

"You do understand that if you like Sarah more than my mom, you'll start a civil war, right?" Bucky asked carefully.

"Don't worry, I dislike everyone equally to their face," Matt replied with a small smile. 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! :D


	9. Chapter 9

  
Bucky was terrified things were going to change when SHIELD released him with a freshly re-washed brain but Clint picked him up with a jaunty honk at the front and kissed him front of Fury and Maria to make maximum annoyance before driving him away from the compound.

He'd tried to get Steve to bring Matt so he could see him right away but Clint was insistent and Steve was caught up triple-checking the Intel from the ambush.

"Matt's cutting school today, I had to give him permission since Wade wouldn't, he said it was too dangerous but your baby brother's a badass, you know?"

He slowly turned to glare at his soon to be ex-boyfriend. "Explain."

Clint grinned tossing him his new burner phone. "I sent you a vid, Matt's been hanging with the Moms - it's amazing."

Bucky swiped to unlock the screen and frantically checked the immediate flow of messages until he saw the attachment. "What are you - " he started but couldn't look away.

"Your mom snatched Sister Maggie's habit like it was a wig, it was amazing, but then Sarah pulled out those big puppy eyes and sniffled like she was going to cry and your boy just swooped in and - "

He watched onscreen as Matt swatted Bucky's ma and then his own on their kneecaps with his stick and tucked himself under Sarah's arm with a stern expression that made them both drop their shoulders with guilt. "What did he say to them?"

"Something about his dad, Deadpool didn't hear it and I was following from a safe distance across the street on the roof," Clint replied. "He broke that shit up like a negotiator and by the time Wade got there to rescue him they were sharing stories about Battlin' Jack and trying to schedule visitation time - which Wade is not here for, he's a territorial bastard, you know, and he's definitely not happy with the meddling mothers trying to find out where he lives."

Bucky watched the video three times before he lowered the phone. "How did this even happen? Ma wouldn't dare mess with Maggie - "

"Your ma tried to bring him lunch and saw him talking to his ma and a couple of days later the wig-snatching went down," Clint shrugged. "I think it's sweet, but Deadpool is wigging out with the casseroles and the coddling - you know the only reason he went to urgent care for his hand was because your sister gave Wade a 'look' - as much as I'm pissed I wasn't here to help, I'm kinda glad to have missed the swarm of mothers."

* * *

"Hey, kid. Is there a reason you're skipping school to hang out with my mom?" Bucky murmured, embracing Matt before he had a chance to avoid it.

"Pietro and I broke up," Matt mumbled with a sigh. He was surprised to get such a straight answer but Clint told him Matt missed him, too.

"Do you want me to - "

"God, no, Wade decided to clean all his guns in the living room when he was eavesdropping, that always scares him away. Kissing *does* count as cheating, right?"

Fucking kids. "Yes and fuck him if he told you different."

"He said I was being dramatic and he told me right after it happened and he's sorry but - why am I even dating someone that can't beat me in a fight? He's fast but predictable and - I can do better," Matt said in a rush. "Yukio says that I'm a hypocrite because usually I'm the one that messes up first but - shit, I'm sorry. How are you? Did the docs - "

Bucky laughed under his breath and squeezed him a final time before releasing him. "All clear, I went by the apartment first, just to gut-check for triggers before I hassled Clint into tracking you down."

"My plan totally backfired. I thought I was distracting them from worrying about you but it was a trap," Matt whispered. "You have to help me."

"I warned you," Bucky sighed, tapping his chin and draping an arm around his shoulders. "Take me to the quilt."


	10. Chapter 10

_"Matt, you're fourteen years old, blind and have one hand in a cast, why on earth are you picking fights with - "_

Bucky shared a panicked look with Clint at Becca's harangued voice downstairs and hurried to pull on boxers and sweatpants.

 _"I have consulted outside sources and confirmed that I don't have to explain myself to you,_ " Matt said before Bucky could get to the kitchen and warn him about challenging his sister without backup.

"Whoa - what's happening?" Bucky asked, scanning his brother's face and spotting a blossom of a bruise on his chin.

"Your sister is - " Matt started.

Becca cleared her throat, the Barnes fury welling up in her eyes. "Matthew."

"Time out - " Bucky said, noticing the new girl shifting anxiously by the door with Matt's backpack in a St. Agnes uniform. Her own backpack was torn and bloody. _Huh_. "Becca, what are you doing here?"

"Caught your little delinquent slinking home from school - probably sent home for fighting again, like his social worker's not going to be checking his records or - " Becca blurted out.

Bucky held up his hand and Matt closed his mouth. "I want you to look at the clock and start over. He gets off at one on Wednesdays."

Becca flushed.

"I got in the fight, he got in the way," the girl said.

"We don't have to explain it to her," Matt warned, raising his chin at Becca again.

"Why are you giving my sister shit?" Bucky asked him.

"Because she can't decide if she's a friend or a NARC," Matt snarled.

Becca and Bucky flinched at that.

"Too far," the girl whispered and Matt deflated a notch, like a cat's puffed fur going down at the loss of a threat.

"I - okay. Sorry, that was - rude. Just - we barely got out of the gym without getting busted with the rest of those assholes and I was finally calming down and you ambushed us on the street like a cop," Matt said.

"Oh. I'm sorry for not giving you a chance to explain, I didn't intend to ambush you," Becca said immediately softening. "I don't like seeing people I care about hurt and you're - always hurt."

"I'm very accident-prone, I swear," Matt lied.

Clint appeared, fully dressed and evaluated the situation. "'So I guess I can flip the sign back to _'0 days without an accident'_?"

"Please," Bucky said. Matt accepted a hug and another apology from Becca and Clint walked her to the elevator so he could rejoin the clusterfuck of the day still in progress in the kitchen.

"This is Jessica," Matt said, familiar bag of frozen vegetables pressed against his chin. He elbowed her and she glared at Bucky with deadly sharp eyes.

"Sorry for punching your brother," she sighed.

"Did he deserve it?" Bucky asked, tapping his brother's wrist and urging him to lower the frozen corn so he could examine his swelling face. _Damn_ , girl must have a helluva swing.

"Told you," Matt laughed, the girl staring between them in shock.

"No, he didn't, he just got in the way. I can take care of myself," Jessica said.

"Which I've made a note of," Matt nodded. "But per your rules about fighting without permission - I've made a report."

"You didn't have to bring a witness, or start a fight with my sister for no reason but I've made a note of it," Bucky replied dryly. "It's nice to meet you, Jessica, please don't beat up my kid brother without permission."

"Okay. I'll make a note of it?" she hesitated.

"We're going upstairs, can she borrow a laptop?" Matt redirected.

"You know where they are - _hey_ \- does she have permission to hang out?" Bucky asked before they could disappear.

"The nuns know I took her," Matt called over his shoulder.

"Is he loitering at the orphanage again? I keep warning him they're going to take him back," Bucky muttered to the girl.

"He was playing translator for some of the new kids, they only have a few nuns that speak Spanish. I really am sorry, I didn't mean to hit him," she said, keeping her eyes down.

"Happens if you hang out with my baby brother, just try not to hit so hard next time and not the face," Bucky said.

 _"He doesn't hit me, he just means I get in a lot of fights! Stop harassing my friend!"_ Matt yelled from upstairs over Jessica's boots climbing the stairs.

He busied himself with texting Becca and then Sister Maggie just to be sure Matt wasn't getting another restriction. Jessica reappeared before Clint made it back from his duty downstairs.

"Um. Can I stay for dinner?"

"Sure?"

"And can you invite Natasha? Matt says - I should talk to her."

"Can I ask why?"

She shifted but met his gaze steadily. "He wants me to fight somebody strong and says you wouldn't want to hit me back which would defeat the whole purpose."

He considered it, returning his attention to the phone. "Fair enough."

"Really?"

He shrugged. "She's better at getting the truth out of people, and he picks his own battles. He could've just let you play with Steve's machines in the gym to measure how hard you can hit, but - I already sent the text."

" _Damn! I forgot about that!_ " Matt cursed from upstairs.

She frowned and shifted again. "Wanna arm-wrestle?"

* * *

So Matt had found a girl that got dosed with the same chemicals that blinded him - only she was stronger than Natasha's enhancements and almost equal with Bucky. She nailed Steve hard enough in the eye to blacken his perfect skin for over an hour which - impressive as fuck.

Bucky was shocked and - fucking flattered - by Matt's trust. The kid wasn't handling the new mystery on his own, he wasn't taking it to his mutant, alien or domestic terrorist buddies - he brought it to Bucky.

Fuck if he knew what he was going to do about it, though, what Matt *wanted* him to do about it but - the trust - he wasn't going to fuck it up.

"It's all related to Roxxon, so Rand Enterprises," Matt said, chewing his lip. Natasha and Bucky shared a glance but Jessica nodded, snatching the laptop from the table and flipping it open.

"There are a couple of the executive's kids that go to school with Trish, maybe she can - " Jessica started.

"I know Danny, I can totally seduce him," Matt decided.

Bucky cleared his throat. "Dude."

"The Catholics are so weird, like, mouth and butt stuff should totally still count," Jessica muttered. "But we're just researching, *I* was going to say she could steal some keycards and get us into the building so I can hack the records."

"That's a better plan," Matt nodded.

Natasha's eyes went dark with concern. "Damn, this is where we have to step in as adults and ask you to pause."

Bucky exhaled. "Right. Say you get into the building and hack the records, what's that going to do for you in the long run? Do you have a lawyer that's prepared to face down a huge company? That's going to defend you for burglary or whatever laws you break getting the Intel?"

"We can find out what the chemicals really did to us," Jessica whispered.

"Are you a scientist that's going to be able to understand the terminology? Are you willing to let strangers poke and prod you and take your blood for samples to prove your case?" Natasha asked.

"It'll get us noticed," Matt conceded. "You got the dose in an accident, we'll get Foggy to request your full medical records and they should have the details about what you were exposed to. If it's not enough to figure out why you're super, we'll rethink the hacking plan."

"Steve and I can help you learn to temper your strength, work out the kinks," Bucky offered. "He's broken his share of sinks - and a toilet - so he knows the deal."

"And I'll help you go over the medical records and see what needs follow up, you shouldn't need to break in to get the information you need but you've got to learn what to look for. You're too close to be objective," Natasha said.

Matt nudged Jessica. "It's better than letting the Sisters or your ex-foster mom find out - you gotta stay ahead of it."

She nodded. "Thank you, I'll - yes. I could use the help."

"Won't be getting much from Matt since he's getting grounded for riling up my sister - right?" Bucky asked, kicking him under the table.

"I apologized," Matt protested.

"You have to work harder at being a normal kid, you should've been able to con her out of following you home but you decided to pick a fight instead. Becca - "

"I'm sorry. I'll - make more of an effort with her but - "

"Grounded, three days and no nachos," Bucky said.

"Ouch, so harsh, he'll starve," Natasha winced.

Jessica smiled and patted Matt's slumped shoulder. "You're on your own with that, buddy."

"You probably should bring up that 'mouth and butt' stuff they're teaching at that school, too, because - I don't think Steve's told me about that part of Catholicism, " Natasha added under her breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't seem to quit this fic but have another installment for the lulz.


	11. Chapter 11

_"Bucky?"_

He sat up before Matt finished getting the second syllable out. "What's wrong?"

"I know I already have a friend over and it's late but - Wade's having a bad night and I really need to go get him. Can he stay until - "

"Do you need a ride?" Bucky asked. "A straitjacket?"

"I - _shit_ , a ride would be really helpful but I don't know how he's going to be," Matt shuffled uncomfortably.

"He can give me gas money when he's back on his feet," Bucky said. He dressed quickly and paused at the bottom of the stairs. "Did you wake Jessica?"

"I told her I was going out and she told me to fuck off 'til morning so she's fine."

He didn't ask more questions, but his worry level rose steadily in the car with every block of the kid's anxious twitching. 

"Shit, it's - better put a tarp down or something, I smell blood."

"Does he need a hospital?"

Matt sighed. "He can't _really_ die, he's been trying to find ways to off himself for - since before I met him. He's been doing really well lately but - it's - it might be his dead girlfriend's birthday or a misplaced memory or something. Sometimes his triggers sneak up on him."

Seemed like a lot to dump on Matt's plate but he doubted it was Wade's decision when Matt didn't seem to understand the concept of keeping his nose out of other people's business.

"I'll be right back," Matt said, scrambling out of the car and disappearing into the shadows outside of the decrepit looking apartment complex.

He definitely did not count the seconds until the back door swung open with a breathless thunk and Matt leaned against the car.

"He blew a hole in his chest. I stuffed it with gauze for now but its too messy to fuck with here, I'll staple him together at home," Matt said, Deadpool's face hidden by his mask and hoodie. He seemed to be trying to hide behind Matt's smaller shape so he decided not to harass the guy - yet. "Do we have a stapler, like, one of those industrial ones?"

" _Ouch_ , Matty, I can do sutures - "

"It's a - giant hole," Matt sighed.

"Life is pain, deserve - gaping wound in my chest - " Wade mumbled.

"Shut up," Matt snapped, urging him into the backseat and climbing in beside him. "Quiet time now."

"Sorry, Matty. Shouldn't have called - "

"No, you always call, always, remember why?" Matt asked in a soothing tone that reminded Bucky way too much of their dad.

"Nothing wrong with asking for help," Wade replied with a practiced script. "Practice what I preach. Never let the kids find my body because it makes them cry which is against the prime directive."

"Thought the prime directive was - " Bucky started but Matt huffed.

"The crazy people are talking now, all sane comments are to be withheld until morning review," Matt said.

He didn't think that was fair but he'd deal with it back at the apartment.

* * *

_"This is the grossest thing ever!"_

Bucky followed Jessica's exclamation to the downstairs bathroom where Matt seemed to be having trouble swatting away Jessica's curious hands and keeping Wade from falling off the closed toilet.

"There's only so much leeway I can give you at 2 a.m., Matty," Bucky decided, needing to take back 'adult of the house' control before he lost all the custody. "Everybody step back. Wash your hands - Jessica, remember the verbal contract you made promising not to talk about anything you see over here."

The kids went to work and Bucky placed both hands on Wade's shoulders to hold him in place. "Hey. You steady?"

"No, sirree, never," Wade replied with a weak attempt at a grin.

"Work with me here. Where are you? I ain't asking for your name, rank and serial number - give me proof of sane."

"Your apartment, you're Bucky, not Winter Soldier, and she's a girl I don't know yet but that I'm probably going to have to scare away before Matt tries to make her his rebound - do you know how old he is, Child?" Wade asked, leering at Jessica.

Matt made an offended sound and Jessica snorted, but considering the actual gaping hole in Wade's torso - it was a good sign. 

"How are you not dead?" Jessica asked.

"He'll be fine in a few days, probably a week. Think he hit the stomach, it's not connected - it sounds wrong," Matt grumbled, showing his clean hands and a tube of Nesporin. "I'm going to put this in there and then you wrap the gauze as tight as it can go and it should seal itself off."

"That fast? So not like Wolverine, but faster than Stevie or me, good to know," Bucky said. "Pass me that bottle of rubbing alcohol, Jess, before Matt squeezes that shit in it."

"Save your questions 'til the end," Wade told Jessica. "Can't have both brothers distracted."

* * *

"Where's Matt?" Bucky asked desperately needing a nice, slow morning but only finding Jessica and Wade in the living room where he'd left all three the night before with blankets.

"He'll be back quick, he said," Jessica answered. "Started the coffee before he left."

The hell kind of house was he running where he can't keep up with the one person he's responsible for?

"You know he's probably back at my place washing up the blood, right?" Wade asked without moving from his puddle on the floor in front of the virtual fireplace.

Bucky most definitely did **not** but when he glanced at Jessica, she shrugged with a guilty expression. "He said it wouldn't take long and nobody else would get it clean enough for his nose."

"Castle caught him doing it when I blew the back of my head off last year," Wade said. "Thought we broke him out of the habit - "

"Or maybe you got out of the habit of blowing your head off?" Jessica asked.

"Huh. True, haven't wanted to spook the kid again, and Yukio never lets me hear the end of it - hope he doesn't tell her - "

"You can't rely on my brother as your safety net, he's just a kid," Bucky said.

"I didn't know he'd show up, and you drove him over - "

"You can both simmer down," Jessica sighed dramatically. "I've only known Matt a few weeks but I've already learned that there's only one thing that makes him happy and that's helping other people. He's a blind orphan and he's angry as hell about it - hates that he needs help other kids don't, like sticks and fucking permission from three different adults to take a bus - but the look on his face when he punches a bully or sniffs out a bomb for his friends - that kid's happy as a pig in shit when he gets to be more than a blind orphan."

"Who's got him sniffing for bombs?" Wade asked, appropriately alarmed.

"He told me about it, Natasha got the bomb squad there before anything went boom and we had to add a whole checklist for 'incidental smell emergencies'," Bucky said. "Got his right to nachos reinstated."

"He never tells me anything anymore," Wade whined.

"I don't know how he keeps up with who knows what, guy's full of other people's secrets because of his hearing," Jessica shrugged.

Matt chose that moment to climb through the window in his familiar Guilt Slink. "I thought I'd be back before you woke up," he said and Bucky wondered how much he'd heard of their conversation.

"I know we talked about taking less risks with your health but we'll make an adjustment for that to include 'mental' health as well, okay?" Bucky asked, pulling his brother into a hug and not letting him wriggle out of it. "No more clean-up crew or suicide hotline."

"But I followed all the rules and told you, except for this morning," Matt protested.

"Everyone gets an A plus for effort but we're going to come up with an alternative plan going forward. I have no problem with you helping out Wade, God knows he needs it but the cleaning, it's his mess and he should be the one that has to deal with the clean-up or else he's not fully managing the trauma, okay?"

"I texted my shrink already to get new meds to replace the bottles I swallowed last night, but your brother's right. Please don't take his nacho rights away," Wade said.

"I told Yukio so she can lecture you mercilessly about it," Matt sighed.

"You gonna fight me on this or take the hit?" Bucky asked over Wade's melodramatic groan.

"Which way will get me closer to the coffee?"

* * *

"Steve wants a kid," Natasha said after she'd killed a few hours punching him around the face in the gym.

Bucky sighed. "I've told him - over and over - he can't have my brother."

"We want the girl, the mean one," she said. She avoided his gaze, huh. _Interesting_.

" **We**. Not just Steve?" She was here alone, Clint and Steve were chasing Matt across rooftops in order to enforce newly announced swimming lessons. "Did Matt say something?"

"God no, he would never let us talk to his friends if he knew, _well_ , that we were actually talking to his friends. Steve's going to The Punisher's VA meetings now - Fury's shitting bricks," she admitted.

"So you just suddenly - " Bucky bit off his words. Shit, who the hell was he to tell Natasha what to do? "Wow."

"Right?" she sighed. "I'm still full time with SHIELD and he knows I can't give him babies, we don't want babies. But we can do the foster thing, _maybe_. It would make his mom happy since I won't take his ring."

Oh, Bucky wasn't touching that. "Sarah likes you."

"Wrong, she liked me when I was his 'nice friend from work', she changed colors like a stoplight as soon as she figured out I was his girl," she corrected. "But it's not about any of that - I have all that under control."

"Have you talked to Steve about it?"

She huffed. "Of course, not about Jessica, _specifically_ , but we did our foster parent applications together. But she's the one I want - a kid that doesn't need taking care of, but needs to learn how to take care of themselves - like Matty. Special, but tough enough to handle it - "

That sounded more like - "Did you find out something new?"

"That she can punch holes in concrete deeper than Steve? Everyone knows that because Steve keeps making her show off," Natasha said. "She doesn't need a soft, sweet foster home like Sarah - she needs - I want to be in charge of figuring out what she needs. She's so _mean_ , you know?"

He took her hand. "Yeah. She hates you."

"God, I know, but she loves Steve."

"Everybody loves Steve," Bucky reminded her. "You'll need more than that to get a kid."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dammit. What even is this? Ugh. I have so many other things to do, but fine - fine - let the muses do their thing and ba-boom - for more lulz, here's another update. 
> 
> ~~Totally for real forever done now. Totally.~~


	12. Chapter 12

The light drizzle had turned to freezing rain and sleet overnight and his arm ached from the chill. The apartment was warm and cozy, Clint's sprawled body keeping the majority of his body warm - but the arm was having sympathy pain for its metal brethren, he supposed.

It was all in his head, his arm didn't have nerve sensors - no flesh to feel pain - no skin to sense cold. He carefully disentangled himself from his boyfriend, smiling at the idea that the sneaky ex-street kid, current spy, was comfortable enough not to wake up. 

He checked the thermostat and then leaned into Matt's open door to see if he was up early finishing his homework or maybe sleeping. The bed was made neatly, school uniform laid out and shower still steamy from his morning routine. 

He followed a muffled curse to the kitchen and found his brother sitting with his knees pulled up to his chin and his hands cupped over his ears.

Shit. He kept his voice low. "What's wrong?"

"Headache. Need a minute," Matt said.

"Migraine, or just - " He tried to remember what was in the health stack of Foggy's carefully guarded medical files.

"I have meds but I hate them. I just - don't wanna puke."

"I'll call the school, declare it a quiet day - what else?" Bucky whispered, crouching down to check him for fever or damage with his flesh hand.

"I'd ask for whiskey or a punch in the face, but I'll regret both tomorrow. I don't want the meds but I don't want to - "

"Got it, burrito in the bathroom," Bucky decided, scooping Matt up in his metal arm and appreciating how much weight he'd put on in the months living here instead of the orphanage - kid had muscled up for better or worse.

He snatched supplies with his free hand, the soft quilt his Ma made after weeks of sneakily making Matt check fabrics for his favorite textures, room temperature ginger ale off the counter and the locked medication box. "We haven't had a full on quiet day since you moved in, but Clint and I can use sign language as long as you won't feel like we're talking about you."

"Just don't talk about me and I won't care," Matt mumbled into his shoulder, the lack of fight a symptom of how much his head must hurt.

Matt's weight steady against his bionic arm took all Bucky's phantom pain, from the pressure or the heat - or the simple muted redirection of brainpower to focus on someone else - it was something to think about later. 

"Burrito?" Matt asked, wrinkling his face when Bucky lowered him to the bathroom mat. It was probably the cleanest room in the place after Wade's convalescence.

"Ma's got pics of you from Dad, showed you all bundled up like a burrito in the bathroom - it's what he wrote on the caption. Ma said he used to do the same thing when he was hungover, gave him hell about it."

"Dad didn't like taking me over there, said he could never afford to give me the same kind of life that Jimmy gave you and Becca. Your ma's nice."

"I know," Bucky hummed, distracting himself from the brewing conversation as he bundled the quilt around him and pulled out the list of medication and doses from the emergency box. "Your ma's okay, too. You ever read those letters?"

"I know she loved Dad, probably still does. And that she went from being terrified of me, to hating my existence and finally accepting my place in her history never to be revisited. I thought I had a lot of guilt but she blames herself for everything - Dad made his own mistakes, you know?" Matt mumbled, leaning forward to rest his head against the cool edge of the tub.

Bucky found what he needed, grabbed the bottle of ginger ale and settled onto the floor beside his brother. "Who read them to you?"

"Pietro and Wanda. Their dad left them to keep them safe - or something. I think the letters helped them more than me, but - Maggie did what she thought was right for everyone at the time and sometimes that's all we can do. _Shit_." 

It was the only warning he had before Matt heaved his dinner into the tub with a pitiful whimper.

Too much talking - he failed at this TLC bullshit.

"Hate this," Matt groaned, leaning back after he'd rinsed his mouth and accepted his fate.

"So far I'm batting zero - "

"Nothing you can do. I'm gonna have to take the meds and try to pass out - " Matt sighed, 

"Ah, acceptance is good, are you going to be able to keep them down?"

"I'll probably pass out, possibly in tears, in about twenty minutes if my head doesn't explode," he said miserably. "Leave me here to die."

"Nah, let's try something different this time," Bucky laughed softly, going warm as Matt swallowed the pills from his cupped hands and took three sips of the ginger ale. He leaned his head against Bucky's metal arm with a soft sigh.

"It's humming today. Probably just my headache making it sound like that but, it's nice," Matt said, pressing his ear into the elbow.

"It doesn't like the cold," Bucky whispered.

Matt tucked the quilt over his arm and then lowered his head back. "Doesn't feel cold to me, maybe my crazy's rubbing off on you."

"Maybe," Bucky smiled.  
  


* * *

  
Bucky blinked awake and caught Clint in the middle of a flurried conversation with Natasha and Steve in the doorway, sign language always their failsafe for bad missions and apparently now, migraines.

He realized he'd forgotten to call the school or do any of the things he was supposed in his rush to make sure Matt was comfortable - and that the bathroom floor might not be as comfortable to a 14 year old compared to a younger version.

"Saw the bottles you left out and called the school," Clint signed to him when he caught him watching. "The kid's out cold and we took all the pictures, come have coffee."

"I can go to my room now. Not gonna puke anymore," Matt murmured. "You're all thinking very loud and I can hear Jessica touching my stuff with her grubby fingers."

"Practice run not going well?" Bucky signed to Steve. They had been 'wooing' Jessica with day trips and overnight visits but the girl was playing hard to get, or maybe just waiting them out - fuck if Bucky knew how kids worked.

"She said she was worried about Matt but I think there's an unwritten paper involved in her sympathy headache," Steve replied, helping Clint gently drag Matt to his feet before draping him over one shoulder like a sack of flour. Matt swatted at Natasha when she reached for his face and Bucky assumed he felt marginally better.

"Upstairs, please. You're all so noisy," Matt muttered and Steve carried him out of sight.

"You all right?" Natasha signed at him.

"Better now. Did I know you were coming?"

"Clint called us when he figured out what was happening. Said it was a team emergency."

"I stand by my assessment," Clint signed.  
  


* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nothing to see here. Nothing. Fic is done. *heavy sigh*


	13. Chapter 13

"Okay. So. Tomorrow's the anniversary of Dad's death," Matt said, head bowed over his requested but untouched cereal. "And Father Lantom says I should dedicate one day to remember him and that's his birthday but - doesn't mean I forget the rest."

God _dammit_.

"Sorry, didn't mean to - "

He held up his hand and Matt closed his mouth with a snap.

Just - dammit. Fucking Dad.

"All right. Shit. Are you warning me that you're going to be a moping mess and snap and anyone that talks to you?"

Matt huffed but frowned. "Huh. Yeah, probably."

"So I can't take a bottle of whiskey to his grave and cry?" Bucky sighed, leaning his head on the counter. Matt patted his hair.

"You'll regret it, at least that's what Frank and Jessica tell me. Crying makes them feel awful the next day."

Right.

"We could steal a car and go to Atlantic City."

"Have you ever been to Atlantic City?" Bucky laughed.

"No, but I could probably steal a car," Matt considered, leaning his head on the counter and pushing his breakfast away. "Dunno how to drive, though."

"I guess I could teach you to drive, distraction for the day."

Clint walked in and gave them both curious looks. "Are you guys making bad decisions without me?"

"I'm taking Matt on a day trip tomorrow," Bucky said.

"Driving lessons," Matt expanded.

"Right. I'm calling Steve."

"He's not the boss of me," Bucky frowned. "What do you want to do, Matty? Something to honor Dad's memory or something to take your mind off all of it?"

Matt didn't raise his head so Bucky didn't either.

"Sister Maggie and I prayed together on Sunday. Thought Frank was going to have a stroke when I agreed but - I - it was all right. I - just told you so you would know if it didn't help enough to keep me normal tomorrow."

Like he was normal today? Or any day? Fucking kid. Fucking Dad. Fucking Sister Maggie.

"Why don't you take him upstate to see the mutants?" Clint asked, splaying his hand on his lower back to remind him - tether him - touch - whatever, it helped. "Wolvie wanted to talk to you about something and baby bro likes hanging out with kids he can ambush with full permission."

"Why does Logan want to talk to you?" Matt asked, sitting up like he'd been zapped.

Bucky snorted. "Lower your antenna, it's not what you think."

"Then what is it?" Matt asked. "Are you - "

"It's your fault," Bucky sighed. "Wanda and Yukio decided to talk me up as a safe chaperone and now he wants to tag us for safehouse duty - "

"Substitute teaching more likely since he didn't ask to see your place," Clint pointed out.

"They only hire mutants," Bucky countered.

"Xavier invites all kinds of people to give talks and mentor," Matt said.

Bucky waved them both off. "This isn't about my unemployment status, this is about cheering you up - "

"Cheering 'us' up, because you've been upset since I told you. I shouldn't have told you."

He glared at Matt and it made him feel a little better when his brother sensed it with a small smile. "If I found out later that you hadn't told me, I would be more upset."

"Wait, told you what?" Clint broke in.

"So we'll steal a car and drive upstate, get some fresh air?" Bucky offered.

"Am I allowed to punch Logan in the face when I see him?" Matt asked, lighting up with anticipation.

"That's no way to help your big brother get a job interview," he laughed but he was curious to see Matt's ambush technique in the wild.

* * *

"Where is the sneaky little punk?" Logan asked after they'd grunted their greeting and shook hands in the bustling courtyard that led up to the main school grounds.

"Yukio and a group of scary girls grabbed him out of the car before I put it into park," Bucky admitted honestly.

He snorted and sniffed the air suspiciously. "Don't let 'em hear you think they're scary, they'll give you hell."

Ah, so maybe Clint was right. "They'll do that anyway because Matt's giving me a bad reputation."

Logan hummed. "Kid's a lot better with you around, not that I'll admit it to him or Wade's busted face. Wade lets Matt be the adult - at least you're giving him a chance to be a kid for a change."

"His independence is pretty important to him, but I'm doing the best I can. Every time I think I get a handle on it, he drops another bomb," Bucky shrugged.

"You're doing fine, the kid's a handful. You got a paying job yet?"

At least Logan was good at cutting to the chase. "Still looking at my options." 

"Good, Professor wants to make you an offer."

"What kind?"

Logan motioned around the courtyard at the curious kids watching them. "You walk around the city with a metal arm and manage PTSD on a regular basis. We'll probably use you more as a guidance counselor than a teacher, but you'll need a substitute teacher's license and proof of regular therapy, which we hope you're already getting as part of your retirement package from SHIELD."

"Guidance counselor? Man, that's - " he started.

Logan snapped his arm out, pivoting and catching Matt's leg in mid-kick and tumbling him to the grass with a muted oomph. "New shoes," he announced, helping Matt to his feet with a tender roughness that reminded him of Dad in a distant, unacceptable kind of way.

Bucky brushed the dirt and grass from Matt's back to stop thinking about it and appreciated the flush of amusement on Matt's face. It was his favorite expression, one of the rare ones where Matt was relaxed enough to actually enjoy himself.

"I wasn't paying attention, you all right?" Matt asked him, raising an eyebrow behind his red glasses.

"Guy wants me to be some kind of mentor, guidance counselor bullshit," Bucky answered under his breath.

Yukio, who he'd learned was more Logan's apprentice than Wade's and played them both to force them to co-parent like divorcees, slipped under Logan's arm like she belonged there and tilted her head at him. Bucky wondered if the tell was a ninja thing, or if they'd learned it from one another. Or if she was playing him, too?

"You helped the new girl without turning her in and let her talk it out," Yukio said. "And you don't have stupid rules about things you don't understand, you have reasons for your rules."

_Huh._

"Just say he's a good listener, you're tweaking him out," Logan told her. "You've got class and I'm on recruitment duty - take your emotional support ninja and get outta here."

Yukio gave Logan a withering look, linked arms with Matt and dragged him into the mansion.

"She likes to show off her 'outside' friend since most of the other kids don't leave the grounds a lot," Logan said. "She doesn't make friends easy and if you think Yukio's scary, wait 'til you meet her girlfriend - even your baby brother won't sneak up on her."

"Noted - but I'm not doing any sex ed, that's right off the table - kids know more than I do and Matt always knows when I Google something after the fact - off the table."

* * *

"Hi, Matt, Mr. Barnes," Professor Xavier greeted them behind his imposing desk. He wheeled out to shake Bucky's hand and gave Matt a discerning scan. "Did you get kicked out of class auditing already?" 

"No, just don't want you to poke around my brother's head without permission," Matt replied, raising his chin in his familiar 'come at me bro' expression.

Charles smiled patiently. "Haven't we discussed this before? Multiple times? Telepathy without permission isn't how we do things here. Your brother has impressive psychic walls, Mr. Barnes - "

"It's Bucky, and what do you know about his psychic walls?" Bucky asked, wondering if Xavier had been poking around in Matt's head without permission.

"The Hand and The Chaste have similar training regiments, but his mind's particularly harsh for telepaths."

Matt smirked and Bucky frowned, knowing something bad was coming. "They see what I see."

"You're blind, you don't see anything," Bucky replied blankly.

The smirk bloomed into a smile and the professor laughed as Matt explained. "I see a lot more than most people, just not with my eyes, you know?"

"He's constantly processing sounds, smells and sensations you and I would never pick up on, I've been told it's overwhelming," Xavier said.

"Wanda tried it once on a dare, made it three minutes and threw up three times," Matt added.

“He’s our poster child for why people shouldn’t probe minds without consent,” Xavier said.

"Good to know but also - terrifying," Bucky said, swatting Matt's hair to wipe the smirk off his face. "Make better choices."

"I'm working on it," Matt hummed, fixing his his mussed hair. "We have to learn from each other's mistakes, so - don't let him con you into a head scan. Next thing you know, you'll be drunk on Wade's couch crying about World War Two or Vietnam."

"You gotta leave Logan alone sometimes, man," Bucky laughed. "And I'll take the Professor at his word, I don't think mind-reading was on the agenda for either of us today."

"A lot of our students are distrustful of doctors, social workers, soldiers and cops - well, everyone - " he trailed off before refocusing on Bucky. "So in the interest of learning from each other's mistakes; Westchester could use another ally in helping the kids ready for life outside of the school."

He considered it.

"Those guys that came for you a few months back weren't like any guys me or Yukio had run into before, and she's got all kinds of mystical stuff that she has to be alert for - knocked out a busker with a lute once before I figured out why she was triggered."

Xavier sighed heavily but Bucky got Matt's point and swatted at him again. "I don't think any of your friends understand the concept of pacifism no matter what you tell the nuns."

* * *

Bucky had a job offer and a lot to think about on the trip back but Matt's mood seemed to deflate when he was out of his friends' periphery.

Dad's ghost was going to hang over them both today, distractions or not.

"Can I tell you something?"

Matt inclined his head.

"I'm so pissed off at Dad that sometimes I can't breathe." He took a deep breath. He was totally breathing right now.

Matt paused, shifting against the seat belt. "Oh. Why?"

"He fucking quit on us, Matt. All that bullshit he used to preach about 'getting up' when we get knocked down, to always fight our way back on top - and he gave the fuck up for some cash - and don't say it's because he was grieving, he was always fucking grieving - my mom, your mom, me, your eyes - but fuck him - "

"Bucky - "

"No, I'm owning it - I'm allowed to be angry because - he - fuck, you made him happy as shit, you know? He couldn't stay for that?"

Matt shifted again to lean his head on the window. "It messed him up when I went blind. Like, maybe he was messed up before - but I - I heard all the stuff he wouldn't say in front of me, heard all his prayers, all his calls to disability services, all his shady deals with mobsters when he thought I was asleep - it was manageable, I think, before I got hurt, but after - it was a lot, Bucky. Don't hold that against him, put the blame in the right place, at least - "

"Don't you fucking dare," Bucky growled, pulling the car onto the shoulder and shoving it into park. "He made a choice, his own selfish choice - and I'm allowed to be pissed off about it - and you should be, too. Doesn't mean we don't love and miss him, doesn't mean he was a shitty father because he wasn't - but he left you - he made that choice when he made the deal. We have to live with his stupid fucking - it wasn't our fault, but it's his fault you think that way and that makes me even angrier - "

"I know, Bucky, shit, you think I'm not mad at him, too? Your Ma left messages, like, every day offering to help and he sent me to St. Agnes instead of sitting the fuck down and handling his shit - of course I'm bitter - but we didn't have to deal with the kinds of stuff that he did - he was - mixed up in all kinds of shit," Matt trailed off. "He went out on his own terms instead of looking over his shoulder the rest of his life."

"That's bullshit. You were just a kid, you needed him - "

"I don't want to waste my time being mad at someone when they're dead. We weren't mad at you when you were dead, he deserves the same respect," Matt frowned. "He wouldn't have wanted you to know that he was struggling."

"Did Ma really leave messages for Dad after your accident?" Bucky asked, letting his flashbang of rage fade and following the thread of curiosity instead.

"Yeah. We had an answering machine. But he never called her back and - well, before I had the accident, he got in a fight with Jimmy about something that I'm pretty sure they never told your Ma about."

Shit. "No way."

Matt shrugged, sinking into the seat. "Dad was in over his head before I went blind, before he got your death notification - he paid our bills with mob money and he quit enforcing after - it's none of our business, not now, but I don't think Dad and Jimmy ever operated on the same wavelength about things. Dad couldn't just walk away and get a real job, it didn't work like that. But - again, I'm not sure what happened because I wasn't accidentally eavesdropping on the world."

"I'm sorry - "

"Don't apologize. I got a lot more time with Dad than you did, of course you have questions. But - don't hold things I tell you against him - he did his best, okay?"

"I know," Bucky said honestly, pulling back onto the road and wondering how he could piece this day back together.

Matt fiddled with his phone like a normal kid for a few miles before sliding the earbuds from his ear with a disgruntled expression. "Your boyfriend's a gossip," Matt said, weary from Clint instead of the conversation - improvement.

"Is that news? What's up?" Bucky asked.

"He talks to Becca more than you do and now your mom wants us to come over when we're finished here," Matt replied.

Oh.

"Might be better than going home first, Fogwell's is right there, you know? I - appreciate you getting me out of the Kitchen for the day," Matt admitted in a low voice.

"Then Brooklyn's our next stop."

* * *

"I can't believe you took him on a whole day trip to brood, you're both so silly," his mother scolded him with a fond smile when he followed her into the kitchen.

"Had a job interview, sort of," he admitted once he made sure Becca and Matt's conversation wasn't drifting into bickering yet.

"Oh? And you took Matty along?"

"It was at Westchester, he knows a bunch of those kids - he's down to audit classes and shit already," he said. "Wants me to sign on as substitute teacher and child advocate - like a guidance counselor."

"Well, you've done a great job with Matt, is it something you're interested in? Will it mess up your progress?" 

He didn't quite glare at her but she deflected it with a wink anyway.

"He helps me more than I help him," Bucky sighed.

"Maybe working with more mopey teenagers will help, too - get you out of your own head and back in the world," she said.

"Matt's not mopey," Bucky protested.

She rolled her eyes. "You both get that from your father. How are you guys doing with today?"

"We're going to make a tradition out of leaving town on this date going forward. We're all right," he said when she gave him a worried look. He motioned to his ears. "Kid needs not to hear the Kitchen sometimes."

"And you?"

"We got some stuff out of our system, but we might hang out a while if he doesn't start a fight with Becca," he said.

"Used to have to warn you about that. Did you invite Clint?"

Bucky winced, reaching for his phone. "I haven't told him we're back in the city yet, didn't even tell Steve where I went - "

"Wait, you went upstate without Steve? You're going to be on all the lists, kiddo," his mother laughed, pulling him into a warm hug. "If you're up for the company, invite all your friends so nobody's left out - if not as distraction for Matt, as distraction for you."

He scrubbed a hand over his face. "Steve's gonna be mad if I get a counseling job before he gets his counseling degree."

"Well, I'm sure he'll win the next challenge," she said. "Besides, I need to meet that kid he's trying to adopt without our permission. Sarah's flipping out about an actual grandchild, I need to snoop."

Matt walked in and swatted Bucky's knee with his stick before folding it and tucking it away. "Turn your phone back on." He politely turned to Bucky's mom and confided, "Sarah has elevated expectations, she's driving Natasha nuts. She and I don't really know how mothers are supposed to work and Jess likes her more when she's not pretending to be parental."

"Has she told Natasha that?" his mom asked curiously, but Bucky knew how touched she was that Matt was talking to her like, well, a mom-ish friend.

"Of course not, Jessica isn't over losing her real family, she doesn't want a new one. She didn't have good luck with foster care, but she likes Nat and tolerates Steve's dad-jokes but parenting is off the table."

"Sure it is," Bucky rolled his eyes.

"Definitely don't mention that to Sarah, she'll consider it a challenge."

"I'm going to walk to the library with Becca and investigate the coffee shop on the corner, we'll be back in half an hour," Matt told Bucky.

He pressed a properly folded twenty into his hand. "Bring me back a decaf of whatever you get," Bucky said.

"Sure thing, but seriously - call your boyfriend or give me permission to scare him away," Matt said. "Do you want anything, Winnie?"

"No thank you," she said, but Bucky knew she wanted to preen over the 'Winnie' bit. Becca appeared and Matt took her arm, falling into step with her.

"He's making an effort," Bucky murmured.

His mom swatted at him. "Don't ruin this for us - he's finally getting comfortable around here, there's still time to make a Brooklyn boy out of him."

Not too sure about that, but the comfortable part he could handle.

* * *


End file.
